Rafael Nadal is a four-time champion at the Coupe Rogers, the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 tournament. But if the top seed hopes to add a fifth trophy from this event to his collection, he’ll need to battle past a slew of scrappy baseliners in the early rounds.

Nadal will face #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur or a qualifier in the second round. If it is De Minaur, the 20-year-old will take plenty of confidence into his third match against the legendary lefty, having captured his second ATP Tour title last week at the BB&T Atlanta Open.

Nadal has defeated De Minaur by identical 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 scorelines in each of their two previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, which came at 2018 Wimbledon and this year’s Australian Open. But De Minaur is one of the quickest players on the ATP Tour, putting plenty of balls back into the court and typically forcing opponents to rip the match from his hands.

Watch Highlights Of The 2018 Toronto Final:

The Aussie also showed his serving prowess in Atlanta, dropping just seven first-serve points in the entire tournament. De Minaur became just the third player (since stats started being kept in 1991) to win a tournament without facing a break point (Haas 2007 Memphis, Isner 2017 Newport), and he lost fewer first-serve points than both of those players.

The first seeded opponent Nadal could face is 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin. The Belgian, seeded 15th, was one of just two players to take a set from Nadal at Roland Garros this year, and he defeated the Spaniard at The O2 in 2017. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 4-1.

Fabio Fognini stunned Nadal in this year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals en route to his first ATP Masters 1000 title. And the seventh seed could try to spring the upset again should he face Nadal in the Montreal quarter-finals.

Nadal has won 11 of their 15 FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes, but Fognini has consistently risen to the occasion on the sport’s biggest stages against the Spaniard, beating him on hard courts at the 2015 US Open.

The top seed is also the defending champion, but the last time the tournament was held in Montreal, Alexander Zverev captured his second Masters 1000 crown and his first on hard courts.

The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion, who is the third seed, will play Brit Cameron Norrie or Hungarian Marton Fucsovics in the second round. The first seeded opponent he could face is No. 13 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, who upset the German en route to his second consecutive Hamburg title last week.

Second-seeded Dominic Thiem claimed his maiden title at this level earlier this year on the hard courts of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, and he will look to add another Masters 1000 crown to his resume in Montreal. He will open against 2017 Montreal semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov or Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Shapovalov captured the attention of tennis fans everywhere during his magical run that year, beating the likes of Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro en route to the last four. His fellow #NextGenATP Canadian star, Felix Auger-Aliassime, will play countryman Vasek Pospisil in the first round. Auger-Aliassime beat Pospisil in the first round at Indian Wells last year for his first Masters 1000 victory, and also defeated him in the first round at Wimbledon this season.

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who made the championship match at this event last year when it was held in Toronto, is on Nadal’s half of the draw and he will face a tough test in the second round. He will battle former World No. 3 Milos Raonic, the 2013 Montreal finalist, or American Taylor Fritz, who has made at least the semi-finals in three of his past four tournaments, including his first ATP Tour title in Eastbourne.

Aussie Nick Kyrgios faces a tricky draw, as he will have to battle past Citi Open quarter-finalist Kyle Edmund in the first round. If Kyrgios advances, he will have to play eighth seed Daniil Medvedev, with Thiem also lurking in their quarter.

Daniil Medvedev is competing for the first time as a Top 10 player in the ATP Rankings this week at the Citi Open, and the Russian is showing why he was able to achieve that milestone.

The third seed continued his strong run in Washington, D.C., eliminating sixth seed Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6(7) after one hour and 34 minutes.

“I try to do everything as I did before to become [a member of] the Top 10. I’m still going up. I try to do all [things] the same: hard work, just try to win,” Medvedev said. “I always said my first goal is to win every match I play. This doesn’t change. After, for sure you have some pressure because you want to stay in the Top 10, you want to go up in the Top 10. It’s getting harder and harder to gain even one spot, which is normal. But if I play good, if I manage to win matches, I’m going to be higher.”

Medvedev was dominant on serve, striking 19 aces to Cilic’s four. The 23-year-old did not face a break point in the match, winning 80 per cent of his service points in his first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against the Croat, who ousted #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Thursday.

“I served really great. That was one of the keys,” Medvedev said. “It was a really tight match. I managed to do what I had to do: hold my serve and win the tie-break. I’m really happy with my level of play.”

The Russian was cool under pressure in the second-set tie-break, saving a set point en route to his straight-sets triumph. At 6/7, Medvedev hit a booming ace out wide, before showing great finesse with a perfect drop shot at 7/7 to earn his second match point. Neither player dropped a set point in the tie-break until that moment, when Cilic missed a forehand long.

World No. 10 Medvedev, who won his first ATP 500 title last year in Tokyo, is now just two victories from claiming his second crown at this level and his fifth triumph on the ATP Tour. In the next round, he will face lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk.

Entering the week, the German had not made a quarter-final at any level in 2019. And it appeared that would not change at the Citi Open, where he lost in the final round of qualifying against Donald Young.

But on Friday, the 30-year-old advanced to the semi-finals in Washington, D.C. thanks to a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory against No. 13 seed Kyle Edmund. The German is into the last four of an ATP 500 tournament for the first time.

“I was surprised that I [got to] play here in Washington, D.C. Now I’m in the semis. Sometimes it’s like this,” Gojowczyk said. “To be a lucky loser and to be relaxed even in the first match and second, to be relaxed on the court, to hit the ball hardest what you can, don’t think about it, that’s maybe the key.”

Gojowczyk gained entry into the main draw after Bernard Tomic withdrew due to a finger injury. In the first round, he needed a final-set tie-break to battle past Andrey Rublev. And ever since, he has been on a tear against seeded opponents, ousting 12th seed Alex de Minaur, eighth seed Milos Raonic and now Edmund.

The World No. 122 faced break point as he tried to serve out the match at 5-3 in the decider, but he was able to blast a first serve down the T, forcing an error from the Brit. Soon thereafter, following an Edmund backhand error on match point, Gojowczyk leaned over as he pumped his fist, letting loose a massive celebratory roar.

Gojowczyk is now just two wins away from claiming his first ATP Tour title.

Did You Know?
Gojowczyk is the first lucky loser to reach the semi-finals of an ATP 500 tournament since Italian Andreas Seppi accomplished the feat last year in Rotterdam.

From Juan Martin del Potro’s rapid recovery from knee surgery to Kei Nishikori showing his preparations for the North American hard-court swing, the world’s best players have been busy on and off the court. ATPTour.com looks at the best player social media posts from the past week.

Del Potro shared the good news that he’s walking again! The Argentine underwent surgery last month to repair a fractured right kneecap.

The road to recovery continues for Delpo ?

?: @delpotrojuan (Instagram) pic.twitter.com/nme8q7Br49

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) July 31, 2019

Nishikori returns to action next week at the Coupe Rogers. Based on the video he posted of his hitting session with Michael Mmoh, the Japanese star is in top form.

Practice with @MichaelMmoh! pic.twitter.com/WkdgES3dUU

— Kei Nishikori (@keinishikori) August 1, 2019

Stefanos Tsitsipas clearly enjoyed his time on the doubles court with Nick Kyrgios at the Citi Open. The pair will team up again later this month at the Western & Southern Open.

Exist on your terms. @citiopen | #co19 pic.twitter.com/p2p52RMldH

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) July 30, 2019

Stan Wawrinka and Borna Coric have already arrived in Montreal and wasted no time getting down to business.

Great to be back on the court in Montreal, first practice with @borna_coric ✅????? ! #montreal #practice #hardwork #trusttheprocess pic.twitter.com/9P0Tt37sOJ

— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) August 1, 2019

Karen Khachanov let his fans know that he’s far from discouraged after an early exit this week in Washington.

Always working!???? https://t.co/iTj8CRkCuM

— Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) August 1, 2019

Daniil Medvedev hasn’t just been enjoying himself on the court this week in Washington. The Russian also attended Citi Taste of Tennis and sampled some of the world-class food.

Really fun to be part of @TasteofTennis last night. Nice to help a good cause pic.twitter.com/NBBkeOI7K1

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) July 30, 2019

Fabio Fognini took time out to celebrate his grandmother’s 88th birthday.

TANTI AUGURI NONNA INES ??8️⃣8️⃣ ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/KXU0xwQyrG

— Fabio Fognini (@fabiofogna) July 27, 2019

Thanasi Kokkinakis got his adrenaline fix off the court in Los Cabos by jet skiing before his first match at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex.

?☀️ @AbiertoLosCabos pic.twitter.com/XwhzEgj1lZ

— Thanasi Kokkinakis (@TKokkinakis) July 28, 2019

Champions of Canada’s ATP Masters 1000 tournament have been nearly untouchable on serve of late, especially when they’ve earned a lead. Only nine times in the past four years has the eventual champion dropped serve after leading 15/0.

It’s the first point – and it’s still just one point – but it certainly sets the stage for a possible break of serve if the server falls behind 0/15. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the past four Canadian Masters champions reveals a striking trend that has certainly played a part in capturing the coveted title.

The past four champions:
2018 – Rafael Nadal
2017 – Alexander Zverev
2016 – Novak Djokovic
2015 – Andy Murray

The following breakdown clearly illustrates how important winning the opening point of their service games proved to be in holding serve.

Past Four Champions (Combined Data)
Holding Serve from 15/0 = 94% (136/145)
Holding Serve from 0/15 = 74% (54/73)

The perfect illustration for this dynamic is last year’s Rogers Cup champion Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard lost serve 10 times en route to the title, but only one of the 10 was after he forged a 15/0 lead when serving. Nine of the 10 breaks of serve originated from a 0/15 scoreline.

Past Four Champions / Holding Serve From 15/0

Both Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who won in 2016, lost serve only one time for the tournament after leading 15/0 on serve. But both players combined to be broken 14 times after trailing 0/15 to begin their service games.

Past Four Champions / Holding Serve From 0/15

Clearly bucking the trend is 2017 champion Alexander Zverev, who held 100 per cent (15/15) of the time after falling behind 0/15. Andy Murray, 2015 champion, lost serve nine times when he won the title, with six of the nine breaks of serve coming after trailing 0/15.

There is an obvious statistical explanation for the break of serve when trailing 0/15 versus leading 15/0, but there are also mental and emotional dynamics in play. When the server falls behind 0/15, it’s common for them to play a little tighter, or not quite as bold strategically to avoid errors and fall even further behind.

Correspondingly, the returner can play with more freedom and aggression to build on their initial lead. The returner smells blood, and accordingly ups the ante with his offence when a break of serve is more likely.

One point goes a long way to setting the weather for the entire game.

One of the golden rules in sport is to never take your eyes off the ball.

But, during a remarkable rally at the Citi Open on Thursday, Frances Tiafoe believed he had done enough to win the first point in a crucial game against Daniil Medvedev. He was wrong.

The exchange, which was featured as Play of the Day on ABC’s breakfast programme, Good Morning America, saw home favourite Tiafoe bring Medvedev to the net with a drop shot before flicking a backhand volley past his opponent and turning his back on the court. But, with impressive speed, Medvedev changed direction to track down the ball and chip it into the vacant space for a winner.

Despite his lapse in concentration with Medvedev serving for the match, Tiafoe did manage to eventually break serve and reach 5-5. But Medvedev responded quickly to claim the win two games later, setting a quarter-final clash against Marin Cilic.

On Wednesday, Norbert Gombos arrived at the Citi Open expecting to practise. The 28-year-old had lost on Sunday in the final round of qualifying against Tim Smyczek and he had a flight booked on Thursday to head home to Slovakia, where he planned to prepare for US Open qualifying.

Little did Gombos know that he would not be heading home Thursday, but instead advancing to the quarter-finals of the main draw in Washington, D.C. for the best result of his career. The seven-time ATP Challenger Tour titlist will play Aussie Nick Kyrgios in the last eight for a spot in his first ATP Tour semi-final.

“I was just waiting,” Gombos said of when he found out he received a lucky loser spot. “I had already [booked] the flight back home on Thursday, so I had to change my flight, and today again I have to change [it]. So already twice I have [had] to change my flight back home.”

Not only did Gombos receive a lucky loser spot, but he got especially lucky by taking Kevin Anderson’s position in the draw, as the fourth-seeded South African, who had a bye, withdrew due to right knee pain. Gombos has beaten Adrian Mannarino and Miomir Kecmanovic to make the quarter-finals, his first at an ATP 500 event.

“I was pretty surprised because I knew that maybe I won’t play already. I just came here and I was already set up for practices, so I didn’t expect that I could play,” Gombos said. “But I was so happy that I can play, and I get another chance, so that’s why I’m here still.”

Against Kecmanovic, Gombos won two fewer points in the match. But he played with nothing to lose in a final-set tie-break, pushing the pace from the baseline to ultimately seal the victory after two hours and eight minutes. Before this week, he had not won a match in the main draw of an ATP Tour event since July 2017, and he had earned only three of them in his career. Now, he is enjoying his best tournament yet under the most unlikely of circumstances.

“I was so happy that I got another chance to play here. I know that I was playing really good in previous weeks and now I get a chance to play with the best players,” said Gombos. “After yesterday’s win, I felt like I’m playing really well, so I can take a chance in advancing to other rounds.

“I was playing really good [against Kecmanovic]. Actually it was a close match, and I’m so happy that I won such a close match. I’m really happy to be in the quarter-finals, and I’m really enjoying this moment.”

Gombos has climbed as high as No. 80 in the ATP Rankings. And perhaps it’s fitting that two of the three highest-ranked players he has faced in his career are Anderson — whose spot he received this week — and Kyrgios, who is next up. The Slovakian lost against the Aussie at 2017 Marseille in his only previous tour-level quarter-final, but he’s excited for the challenge of facing Kyrgios under the lights on Stadium Court in Washington on Friday evening.

“I will be happy to play in such a great venue,” Gombos said. “So I will try my best and hopefully it will be good.”

Did You Know?
Gombos is not the only lucky loser into the Citi Open quarter-finals. German Peter Gojowczyk also lost in the final round of qualifying, but he is also through to the last eight after defeating Alex de Minaur and Milos Raonic in back-to-back matches, winning both in straight sets. He won a third-set tie-break against Andrey Rublev in the first round of the main draw.

A lot has changed for Dominic Thiem since he reached his maiden ATP Tour final at the Generali Open in 2014. The Austrian has captured 13 tour-level trophies, contested two Roland Garros finals and reached a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings.

But one thing remains the same. The Austrian is still seeking his first tour-level trophy on home soil. On Friday, he moved one win away from achieving that feat in Kitzbühel after overcoming Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 7-6(6).

The 25-year-old won 73 per cent of service points (49/67) to advance to his fourth tour-level championship match of the year (2-1) after one hour and 42 minutes. Thiem has now won 10 matches at this ATP 250 tournament (10-7) and improves to 27-11 this season.

Following a competitive opening six games, Thiem claimed 12 of the next 14 points to charge into a one-set lead. The World No. 4 returned from behind the baseline, hitting with depth to neutralise rallies before stepping up the court to pressure his opponent into crucial errors.

After trading early breaks, a tie-break was needed to decide the winner of the second set. Following a rain delay, Thiem rallied from 1/4 down to claim victory as Sonego fired a backhand return beyond the baseline.

Thiem will need to beat in-form Albert Ramos-Vinolas if he is to add to his 2019 titles at the BNP Paribas Open (d. Federer) and Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (d. Medvedev). The Spaniard advanced to his second ATP Tour final in as many weeks after beating Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4.

Ramos-Vinolas, who captured his second tour-level crown in Gstaad last week, rallied from 2-5 down in the opening set and broke the #NextGenATP Norwegian’s serve on four occasions to improve to 12-1 in his three most recent tour-level events.

“[At 2-5 down] I changed my tactics, I stepped in a little bit more,” said Ramos-Vinolas. ”With the forehand I changed a little more down the line, also with the return a little bit more closer to the lines.”

Prior to his title run in Gstaad last week, the 31-year-old reached the semi-finals at the Swedish Open (l. to Londero). Ramos-Vinolas lifted his maiden trophy at the Båstad-based event in 2016.

Thiem and Ramos Vinolas are tied at 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Ramos-Vinolas defeated Thiem 6-1, 6-4 at the 2016 Chengdu Open, before the Austrian levelled their series with a victory by the same score line at the 2017 Rio Open presented by Claro.

”I expect a very difficult match [if I play Thiem in the final]. Obviously, he is probably one of the best on clay at the moment and he is playing at home. If he wins, it is going to be a difficult match.”

Fifth seed Taylor Fritz continued his red-hot form on Thursday at the Abierto de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex. The American ensured there will be a new winner in Los Cabos after defeating top seed and defending champion Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 7-6(1).

“I think I’m playing my best tennis. I’ve found a level of consistency where it’s still pretty high even when I’m not playing my best,” said Fritz. “This is what I train for. All the stuff I do in the gym and on the practice court is way harder than anything that could be replicated in a match.”

Fritz raced through the first five games of the match and Fognini received strapping to his left foot and ankle after the opening set. Both players held serve throughout the second set to force a tie-break, but the fifth seed won seven straight points to clinch his second Top 10 win of the year. Fritz evened his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Fognini at 1-1.

Read More: Marin Marches Past Felix In Washington

The American has won 12 of his past 14 matches. He earned his first ATP Tour title in June at the Nature Valley International (d. Querrey) and finished runner-up last week at the BB&T Atlanta Open (l. to de Minaur). His outstanding results have put him at a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 28, which is set to climb even higher when the newest standings are released on Monday.

Awaiting Fritz in the semi-finals is seventh seed Radu Albot, who powered past Aussie wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-3 for a career-high 25th tour-level win of the season. Albot clinched his first ATP Tour title this February in Delray Beach by saving three championship points to topple Daniel Evans.

Second-seeded Argentine Guido Pella withstood a stern test from South Korean qualifier Soonwoo Kwon to advance 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. The 21-year-old Kwon, competing in his first ATP Tour quarter-final, was not overwhelmed and mixed aggressive forehands with timely trips to the net. But Pella settled in and broke serve twice in each of the last two sets to advance in two hours and three minutes.

Pella is through to his fourth ATP Tour semi-final of the year. He captured his maiden ATP Tour crown this March in Sao Paulo (d. Garin) and reached a career-high ATP Ranking of No. 21 in May.

Next up for Pella is third seed and fellow Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who had few problems in dispatching eighth-seeded Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 6-2. Schwartzman has been in top form this week, dropping only eight games to reach the last four. He seeks his first ATP Tour title of the year after finishing runner-up in February in Buenos Aires (l. to Cecchinato).

Pella leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Schwartzman 2-1 and won their most recent clash this February in Cordoba, but this will be their first hard-court meeting.

It’s common practice on the ATP Challenger Tour. With more than 150 tournaments in 40 countries and territories, players are criss-crossing the globe nearly every week, chasing valuable ATP Rankings points and prize money.

This week, Yuichi Sugita took that to the next level. On Sunday, the Japanese veteran claimed his 10th ATP Challenger Tour title, lifting the trophy in Binghamton, New York. He hailed it as one of the greatest achievements of his career, having endured two years of struggles following his breakout 2017 campaign.

But Sugita had no time to celebrate. In just over 48 hours, he would find himself on the other side of the world, taking the court for a first-round match in Chengdu, China. From a final in upstate New York on Sunday afternoon to being first on Court 17 at 10:00am on Wednesday in central China, it was quite the journey for the 30-year-old.

“Even though I have jetlag, I think this tournament is really important for me,” Sugita told ATPChallengerTour.com. “That is why I’m here. The temperature is different from New York and the humidity too. I got here on Tuesday and started the next day, so it was not easy. But I won my first two matches.”

Photo: Jacob Stuckey

Sugita is hoping to return to the form that saw him reach a career-high No. 36 in the ATP Rankings in 2017. Earlier that year, he claimed his maiden ATP Tour title in Antalya. But the Japanese admits that it was a struggle to maintain that form as he competed full-time at the tour-level.

“I had a lot of lost confidence. When I played on the ATP Tour, I had to play a lot of top players in the first rounds. Every match is really strong and it’s difficult to find confidence. I had to play all ATP Tour tournaments and I think I lost 10 first round matches in a row. It’s difficult to keep playing well, but it is the tour you dream of playing on. It was a really good experience for me.”

In 2018, Sugita would endure a 10-match losing streak and eventually fell outside the Top 200. As fast as he enjoyed his biggest breakthrough, he would plummet to No. 274 and was forced to return to the ATP Challenger Tour.

He says his victory at the Levene Gouldin & Thompson Tennis Challenger was a great boost, not only in lifting a trophy once again and returning to the Top 200, but in restoring much-needed confidence.

“It’s a long, long time since I last got a title. It’s a big one for me. I was in the Top 40 in 2017 and then I dropped in the ATP Rankings. And I lost how I want to play my tennis. It was really tough to come back to my level, but I won last week and now I have more confidence with my tennis. It was a big, big title for me. It was bigger than my ATP title. These two years, it was really tough, but finally I got it back.”

Now, Sugita is on the rise once again and he credits his resurgence to a renewed mindset and firmer commitment to improving his physical and mental approach. And later this month, he will reap the rewards with a berth in US Open qualifying. What a difference one week can make.

“I needed to practise even harder. I worked on my footwork and the physical and mental side. Physically I tried to get more fit and mentally I just needed the confidence to get back there. I manage myself and my game and find what is my strong points and just believe in myself.”

On Friday, Sugita will face one of his biggest tests of the year in top seed James Duckworth. A spot in the semis at the 2019 International Challenger Chengdu is on the line.