Tennis News

Red-Hot #NextGenATP Star Brooksby Makes Top 100 Breakthrough

Less than four months ago, Jenson Brooksby was outside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings. But after a red-hot stretch, including runs to the Newport final and the Washington semi-finals, the #NextGenATP American on Monday cracked the Top 100 for the first time at World No. 97.

“I’m excited. It seems like a cliche answer, but I know I have the game to do it and I’m glad obviously I’ve done it in a short period of time,” Brooksby told ATPTour.com. “Let’s see how high I can push it.”

Brooksby has picked up high marks from some of the sport’s greatest minds. Former World No. 1 Andy Murray on Friday tweeted his praise for the 20-year-old.

“Jenson Brooksby is the sort of player I love to watch…lots of variety.. high tennis IQ…. great in defence,” Murray wrote. “His slice and backhand volley are almost identical to Florian Mayer.”

Jenson Brooksby is the sort of player I love to watch…lots of variety..high tennis IQ….great in defence..?
His slice and backhand volley are almost identical to Florián Mayer.#tennis @atptour

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) August 6, 2021

Brooksby was excited to hear about Murray’s tweet. “I think that’s very accurate. Obviously that’s great to hear from Andy,” he said in a press conference in Washington. “He’s been one of the best in the sport and a great guy to look up to. That means a lot. Those are great words coming from him.”

The Californian is an unorthodox disrupter on the court. The American rarely misses and finds ways to put the ball in uncomfortable positions for his opponent, much like Murray and Daniil Medvedev do. He also has a two-handed backhand slice and is unafraid of mixing in drop shots or net rushes if necessary.

Frances Tiafoe described his countryman’s game style well after losing to Brooksby in Washington.

“[He] is super unorthodox. Obviously everything he does is pretty strange,” Tiafoe said. “[He] puts you in awkward positions, makes you play an extra ball, has great anticipation of the ball. [He] is really solid, makes you play a lot.”

Brooksby, who is an intense competitor, enjoys putting his opponents in those difficult positions and frustrating them.

“I really do. I’m sure a lot of people may think of it as, ‘Oh, someone had a bad day or something,’” Brooksby said. “But in my mind, that’s the result of my game doing the right things, exposing their weaknesses.”

Brooksby, who received a wild card into his first ATP Masters 1000 event at this week’s National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, has turned his unique game and competitive spirit into a lot of winning in 2021. In addition to his recent ATP Tour success, the American has claimed his first three ATP Challenger Tour titles this season.

“I really believe this is my level, and it’s not too surprising for me,” Brooksby said. “Obviously I’m happy that I have been able to do it consistently most weeks, and that’s [moreso] that my mental toughness has improved more than anything.”

^{Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour}
Although Brooksby is happy to crack the Top 100, he has no intention of stopping here. The #NextGenATP star is keen to continue pushing forward.

“Hopefully I’ll have a lot more firsts out there. I believe I will,” Brooksby said. “I’m just excited to keep playing and keep learning.”

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Brothers In Arms: Cerundolos Join Elite Company With Fran's Title In Cordenons

It has been an Argentine assault on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2021. The South American nation celebrated its 10th title on the circuit this year, as Francisco Cerundolo lifted the trophy on the clay of Cordenons, Italy.

Cerundolo dominated the final on Sunday, routing in-form countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-2 in one hour and 33 minutes. The 22-year-old, who was coming off his Olympic debut in Tokyo, played inspired tennis in his return to the ATP Challenger Tour. It was the Argentine’s fourth Challenger crown in total and first of the year.

Cerundolo’s convincing victory was even more impressive considering Etcheverry’s stunning run of form in recent weeks, having claimed a pair of titles on Italian soil while amassing a 17-2 record. Cerundolo saved all six break points faced to oust his close friend and longtime rival, edging ahead 3-2 in their head-to-head series.

“It was a special match,” said Cerundolo. “Playing against a friend and winning always gives me great emotions. Etcheverry just won the title in Trieste and is having an incredible run in the Italian Challengers, so it was never going to be easy. We are very good friends for many years. It’s special to play a final against each other and hopefully we can have more matches like these in the future.”

With the victory, the Buenos Aires native and his brother Juan Manuel Cerundolo joined an exclusive list of siblings to triumph on the ATP Challenger Tour in the same season. One of the breakthrough #NextGenATP stars of 2021, Juan Manuel had captured his maiden title earlier in the year in Rome.

Brothers With Challenger Titles In Same Season

The Cerundolos are the sixth set of brothers to lift Challenger trophies in the same season, joining the Griekspoors, Melzers, Rochuses, Lapenttis and Simpsons in achieving the special feat. In fact, it has happened three times in the last five years, with Tallon Griekspoor and Scott Griekspoor both capturing crowns in 2018, just one year after Jurgen Melzer and Gerald Melzer celebrated titles.

Francisco is now on the brink of cracking the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, rising to a career-high No. 111 on Monday. He will be one of the more feared competitors in New York, when US Open qualifying gets underway in two weeks.

In other action… Alex Molcan was a ruthless force in claiming his maiden ATP Challenger Tour on Sunday in Liberec, Czech Republic. The Slovak dropped a combined 17 games throughout the week at the Svijany Open, culminating in a 6-1, 6-0 semi-final win over Malek Jaziri and a 6-0, 6-1 domination of Tomas Machac for the championship.

Molcan was hungry to lift his first trophy, following a pair of Challenger final defeats in Sevilla in 2018 and in Prostejov earlier this year. He also played for the title at the ATP 250 stop in Belgrade in May, falling to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.

“I’m really happy that I finally managed to break my bad luck in finals and win the tournament,” said Molcan. “I played really well in all the matches in Liberec. The positive thing for me is that I was able to keep the level of my game high throughout the week.”

The 23-year-old is Slovakia’s first Challenger champion since 2019. He rises 17 spots to a career-high No. 136 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

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Day 1 Preview: Kyrgios Aims To Fell Opelka In Toronto

Wild card Nick Kyrgios headlines Day 1 of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto when he squares off against another big server in American Reilly Opelka. The Australian owns a 5-6 record in Canada’s ATP Masters 1000 event, but has fallen at the first hurdle in his previous two outings there.

The World No. 77 has contested only five tour-level events in 2021 and has gone 1-2 in North America since Wimbledon, including an opening-round defeat to eventual finalist Mackenzie McDonald at the Citi Open last week.

His best wins this season both came over Frenchman Ugo Humbert in five sets at a major – in the second round at the Australian Open and first round at Wimbledon. It marks the first time since the North American hard-court swing in 2019 that Kyrgios has played three tournaments back-to-back.

Click Here For Full Day 1 Schedule

“I don’t take any match for granted any more. Every time I’m at an event, at a special one… I don’t take any day for granted,” Kyrgios said in Washington, D.C last week. “I love being around it. I try and soak in as much as I can. Just the practice, being around the courts, being at the highest level, I don’t take that for granted.”

Opelka is 2-2 since the switch to hard court on home soil and comes off a second-round defeat to John Millman in Washington, D.C last week. In May, the No. 36 in the FedEx ATP Rankings reached his maiden ATP Tour Masters 1000 semi-final in Rome before he fell to Rafael Nadal. He has never faced Kyrgios and the winner will take on No. 14 seed Grigor Dimitrov in the second round.

? Kyrgios in the building.@NickKyrgios | #NBO21 pic.twitter.com/B9tIGmr0pJ

— National Bank Open (@NBOtoronto) August 8, 2021

World No. 37 Marin Cilic contests his first event since claiming a silver medal in doubles with Ivan Dodig at the Tokyo Olympics last month. The 32-year-old, who went down to eventual bronze medallist Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round of the singles, faces Spain’s Albert Ramos Vinolas in the first round on Monday. Cilic leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head ledger 4-3, however the Spaniard claimed their most recent encounter in straight sets in Shanghai two years ago.

The Croatian has a 12-10 record at this event and has performed better when it has been held in Toronto. His two quarter-finals appearances in Canada came on debut in 2008 and a decade later, both times in Toronto. He lost to Dominic Thiem in the round of 16 two years ago and would meet sixth seed Casper Ruud next should he prevail.

British World No. 27 Daniel Evans carries a 1-1 ATP Head2Head record into his first round in Toronto against dangerous 24-year-old Alexander Bublik. Evans prevailed on hard court in Adelaide last year, while Bublik claimed the rubber for Kazakhstan on an indoor hard court in the 2019 Davis Cup Finals in Spain. The winner will meet top seed Daniil Medvedev for a place in the round of 16.

Italian Fabio Fognini and German Jan-Lennard Struff have also split their two ATP Head2Head meetings ahead of their first-round clash in Toronto. World No. 32 Fognini comes off a three-set round of 16 defeat to Medvedev in Tokyo, while world No. 46 Struff fell to top seed Novak Djokovic there in the second round. Fourth seed Andrey Rublev awaits in the second round.

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Sinner Shines In Washington, Beats McDonald For First ATP 500 Title

Jannik Sinner is only 19, but he certainly does not play like it.

The Italian overcame his nerves and American Mackenzie McDonald 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 on Sunday to win the Citi Open and became the youngest ATP 500 champion since the category was created in 2009. No other teen has lifted a trophy at the level.

Given the pressure of the moment and McDonald’s grittiness — the home favourite saved 10 set points in the first set and 16 break points in the match — many teens would have struggled to battle through. But Sinner showed little frustration and defied his nerves to remain focused and become the third-youngest champion in tournament history behind Andy Roddick (2001) and Juan Martin del Potro (2008).

“I think there is still much work to do, to be honest. A lot of experience to put in, working hard as we are doing now, and trying to play important matches and important moments of a match,” Sinner said. “Today I think I had a lot of them. I can learn many things [from] today.”

Sinner claimed the biggest title of his career with the loss of just one set in five matches. The fifth seed lost an opportunity to serve for the championship at 5-3 in the third set. But after two hours and 53 minutes, he completed his impressive run at a tournament that has been won by the likes of all-time greats Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors. 

“When you see somebody is the youngest or whatever, I don’t put much weight on that. There are a lot of players who have done much, much better than me,” Sinner said. “It’s not about who is the youngest or whatever.
I just want to improve, work hard.”

It was anything but easy against McDonald. Sinner showed that not only does he have plenty of weaponry in his physical game, but incredible mental fortitude to fend off disappointment and find a way to win.

In the first set, it seemed Sinner’s firepower would be too much for his opponent to handle. The threat of the Italian’s raw power forced McDonald to make atypical baseline mistakes, and that proved the difference early on. It felt like the American was clawing to avoid letting the match slip away.

But even though he won the opening set, Sinner lost his serve twice in the frame, which was surprising given he had only dropped three service games in his first four matches. McDonald attacked the teen’s kick second serve to try to get on top of rallies, and that paid dividends in the second set.

The American cut down on his errors by dropping further behind the baseline and saved the two break points he faced in the second set. Using the home crowd, McDonald broke and held onto his serve to force a decider in his first ATP Tour final.

That is where the class of Sinner, the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion, showed. This year’s Sofia titlist, who rarely displays emotions on court, let out a massive roar after forcing a volley error from the World No. 107 to break in his first return game of the third set. He sprinted to a 3-0 lead and held two championship points on McDonald’s serve at 5-2.

But like the rest of the match, it was not simple to finish the job. McDonald played aggressive tennis to save those two championship points and broke Sinner when the teen served for the match. It was that same fight that helped McDonald get through long hours of physical therapy and rehabilitation following right hamstring surgery in June 2019.

Sinner did not panic, though. He earned his fifth service break when the American missed a backhand into the net, and the Italian held his arms in the air as a show of both relief and celebration.

“I think it’s tough mentally, because I had a lot of chances. I couldn’t use [them], because first he was playing better in the crucial moments,” Sinner said. “But I tried to work for one more chance and tried to break him like this.”

McDonald was trying to become the first American champion at the Citi Open since Roddick in 2007, and the third-lowest-ranked champion in tournament history.

Did You Know?
This was the 146th ATP 500 event since the category was created. Before Sinner triumphed on Sunday, the youngest titlist at this level was 20-year-old Alexander Zverev, who lifted the Citi Open trophy in 2017.

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Tsitsipas Set To Climb To World No. 3: 'I've Put In So Much Work To Make It'

Stefanos Tsitsipas is excited to be back in Toronto for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. But the Greek is also thrilled for recognition he will earn before striking a ball at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event.

The 22-year-old is projected to climb to a career-high No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, passing Rafael Nadal.

“Being at the ranking that I will be tomorrow, it is a huge motivation and a very good indication that I’ve done great so far,” Tsitsipas said. “[I am] just generally blessed that I’ve put in so much work to make it to the top three, which [I would consider] quite a special milestone.”

Tsitsipas first cracked the Top 10 more than two years ago after a run to the Dubai final. But the Greek sees this accomplishment on another level.

“That [Top 10 breakthrough] was a great dream of mine being fulfilled. The top three is on its own, something completely different,” Tsitsipas said. “My purpose of doing this is self-improvement and trying to become a better person through tennis, so it matters.”

The Greek will not stop pushing to improve, though. That is Tsitsipas’ daily focus.

“I wake up every single day with a goal: to get better. To get better with my tennis, to get better in the sport that I chose to follow in my life,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m very happy I get to play that sport. I’m very happy that I get to inspire people doing what I do.”

Tsitsipas has fond memories of Toronto, where he made his first Masters 1000 final in 2018. During that run, the Greek became the youngest player to beat four Top 10 opponents at a single tournament since the ATP Tour was established in 1990.

Seeded third at this edition, Tsitsipas will hope to go even further at the Aviva Centre. He will play French lefty Ugo Humbert or Italian Lorenzo Sonego in his opening match and could face 2021 breakthrough star Aslan Karatsev in the third round.

“I’m feeling good with my game, really happy to be back to Toronto, one of my favourite places to compete and play tennis,” Tsitsipas said. “The location is exactly as I remember it. I’m just generally happy to be competing here again.”

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Klaasen/McLachlan Capture Washington Title

Fourth seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan overcame Neal Skupski and Michael Venus 7-6(4), 6-4 on Sunday at the Citi Open in Washington to win their first ATP Tour title of the season.

The South African-Japanese tandem did not drop a set this week en route to the trophy in the United States’ capital. Klaasen and McLachlan battled back from 3-5 in the first set, winning 86 per cent (32/37) of their first-service points to record victory in one hour and 46 minutes.

“It is a fantastic feeling,” Klaasen said. “To finally get over that hump, as we have lost a couple of semi-finals, it is nice to have finished it off. Especially here in Washington, where I won the title in 2019, it was nice to come out here and do it again. In the second set we were hanging on for dear life and we were probably the worse team. But being together for a year now, the experience probably helps.

“With this scoring system, you know things can change in a heartbeat. We have been on the receiving end of a few losses like this. We made a couple of key returns at 3-5 in the first set to stay alive and fortunately today it worked out for us. You have to hang in until the end of the set.”

Klaasen and McLachlan enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in July, and reached the semi-finals at ATP 250 events in Santiago, Estoril and Geneva this year.

It is the second ATP Tour crown the pair has won together, having captured the bett1HULKS Championship in Cologne last October on their team debut. Individually, It is the 18th tour-level title Klassen has won, while it is the seventh time McLachlan has triumphed.

In a tight first set, Klaasen and McLachlan responded from losing serve in the eighth game to quickly level at 5-5. They then raised their level in the tie-break to move ahead before breaking at 5-4 in the second set to seal their victory.

Second seeds Skupski and Venus were making their team debut this week and beat #NextGenATP stars Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

Earlier in the season, Skupski reached back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 finals with Daniel Evans in Miami and Monte-Carlo (l. to Mektic/Pavic both times) and won the title in Acapulco with brother Ken Skupski. Venus has captured two titles with two partners this year: Hamburg with Tim Puetz and Geneva with John Peers.

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Toronto Scouting Report: Nadal Chases Sixth Title, Medvedev & Tsitsipas In Action

The world’s best players are set to compete this week at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto. Five-time champion Rafael Nadal and Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas are among a stacked field of talent in Canada.

They will be joined by top seed Daniil Medvedev, Russian Andrey Rublev and home favourite Denis Shapovalov, while #NextGenATP Jannik Sinner makes his debut at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto, which alternates hosting duties with Montreal.

Before play begins, ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch in Toronto.

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Listen To The ATP Tennis Radio Podcast:

1) Nadal Targeting No. 6 In Canada: Reigning champion Nadal arrives at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers with fond memories, having captured back-to-back titles at Canada’s Masters 1000 event in 2018 and 2019. The 35-year-old, who also lifted the crown in 2005, 2008, and 2013, made his return to the Tour at the Citi Open last week after he recovered from a foot injury.

The Spaniard will be aiming to win his 89th tour-level title this week, having already claimed trophies in Rome and Barcelona earlier this year. The second seed could face a tricky opening foe in Lloyd Harris if the South African overcomes a qualifier in the first round. Harris upset Nadal in a three-set Washington thriller.

2) Medvedev Top Seed: Medvedev will lead the field as the top seed in his third appearance (also 2018 and 2019) at the hard-court event. Although he did it when the tournament was held in Montreal, the Russian star made his first massive splash at this event two years ago. Medvedev did not lose a set en route to his first Masters 1000 final. It was his second of six consecutive championship matches.

The 25-year-old most recently made the quarter-finals at the Tokyo Olympics and has captured two ATP Tour titles this year (Marseille and Mallorca). Medvedev also led Russia to the ATP Cup title in February. He could face Italian Sinner in a third-round blockbuster as he attempts to claim a 12th tour-level title.

3) Tsitsipas Back In Toronto: Like Medvedev, Tsitsipas made his first Masters 1000 breakthrough at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Three years ago in Toronto, then World No. 27, Tsitsipas beat four consecutive Top 10 opponents to reach his first Masters 1000 final, where only Nadal was able to stop him.

Tsitsipas has been on the rise since then, and he sits in second place in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. The Greek star, who made his first Grand Slam final earlier this year at Roland Garros, will be looking to enjoy another successful trip to Toronto. Tsitsipas will begin his run against Halle champion Ugo Humbert or Cagliari titlist Lorenzo Sonego In his opening match.

4) Rublev Making A Masters 1000 Push: Rublev has played better than ever at Masters 1000 events this year, reaching his first semi-final in Miami and championship match in Monte-Carlo. The 23-year-old, who is in fourth place in the ATP Race To Turin, will try to go one step further at this level in Toronto, where he lost in the first round in 2018 in his only previous main draw appearance. Now the fourth seed, Rublev faces a challenging draw. The Russian will play big-hitting Italian or 2019 Monte Carlo champion Fabio Fognini in the second round.

5) #NextGenATP Stars In Action: #NextGenATP stars Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jenson Brooksby and Sebastian Korda will all be in action in Toronto. Sinner was victorious at the Great Ocean Road Open in Melbourne earlier this year and became just the fourth teenager to reach the final at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March. The 16th seed, who is playing in the Citi Open final on Sunday evening, is making his debut at Canada’s Masters 1000 tournament and will face Taylor Fritz or a qualifier in the first round.

Home favourite Auger-Aliassime will be competing in the main draw in Toronto for the second time (also 2018). The 20-year-old, who is in second position in the ATP Race To Milan, advanced to his eighth tour-level final at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart in June. The ninth seed could play Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

Brooksby, who made his first ATP Tour final in Newport and his maiden ATP 500 semi-final in Washington, received a wild card. Like Sinner, Brooksby and Korda will be making their debuts at Canada’s Masters 1000 tournament.

6) Home Favourite Shapovalov: Canadian Denis Shapovalov returns to home soil on the back of a strong grass-court season in which the 22-year-old advanced to his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon (l. to Djokovic) and reached the last four at The Queen’s Club. It will be the lefty’s fifth appearance at Canada’s Masters 1000 event and the World No. 10 could face Korda in the second round and Rublev in the quarter-finals. 

7) Kyrgios Leads Wild Cards: Australian Nick Kyrgios will compete in his sixth event of the season after accepting a wild card into the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. The 26-year-old, who is making his seventh appearance at Canada’s Masters 1000 event, has played in Atlanta and Washington in recent weeks following his run to the third round at Wimbledon. Kyrgios faces big-serving Reilly Opelka in one of the most intriguing first-round matches. In addition to Kyrgios and Brooksby, home favourite Vasek Pospisil also received a wild card.

8) Ruud On A Roll: Norway’s Casper Ruud is on a roll. The 22-year-old became the first player since Andy Murray in October 2011 to win three ATP Tour titles in three weeks when he backed up triumphs in Bastad and Gstaad by clinching the crown in Kitzbühel. Ruud used that surge to climb to eighth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin. The sixth seed, who is in the same half as Nadal, will look to transform his winning clay-court form to hard courts this week.

Read More: Getting To Know… Casper Ruud

9) Can Hurkacz Deliver Again? Hubert Hurkacz became Poland’s first Masters 1000 singles champion at the Miami Open presented by Itau in April. The 24-year-old backed that up by reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in July. This will be Hurkacz’s second main draw appearance in Canada. The seventh seed will meet Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic or former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori in his first match. 

10) Mektic/Pavic Lead Doubles Field: Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have had a dream maiden year together, clinching nine tour-level titles – including three ATP Masters 1000s and Wimbledon – while also capturing gold at the Tokyo Olympics. The top seeds will lead the field in Toronto and are joined by second-seeded Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. American-British tandem Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury are seeded third, while Halle champions Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau are the fourth seeds.

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Medvedev: 'On Hard Courts, I Am Hard To Beat'

Top seed Daniil Medvedev is feeling confident he can have further success on hard courts in the coming weeks as he prepares to compete at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto to start his North American summer hard-court swing.

The Russian has won 10 of his 11 tour-level titles on hard courts, with the other coming on grass earlier this year in Mallorca. Medvedev is targeting a strong run in Toronto after reaching the final of this event in Montreal in 2019. The two cities alternate hosting duties of Canada’s Masters 1000 tournament.

View Singles Draw

“I am the top seed so anything except the final will not be a good result,” Medvedev said, cracking a smile. “I want to play good tennis. I know when I play good tennis on hard courts, I am hard to beat.

“I am keen to win. I know I am capable of beating a lot of guys on hard and I know I can win big tournaments. At the same time, everybody plays well, everybody can beat everybody. It is unpredictable.”

The 25-year-old enjoyed a memorable breakthrough run to the Montreal final in 2019, defeating Austrian Dominic Thiem en route to the championship match before falling to five-time champion Rafael Nadal. It is an experience that Medvedev relished as he went on to win his first Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati later in August and reach his maiden Grand Slam final at the US Open the following month.

“It was a special tournament,” Medvedev smiled. “It was my first Masters 1000 final. I came here from Washington and I was pretty exhausted already. I didn’t know what to expect, I just wanted to play good tennis. It was the best result of my career at the time. It was a special feeling. I like playing in Canada.”

The World No. 2, who has won three Masters 1000 titles, leads the field in Toronto as the top seed. While Medvedev enjoys being viewed as one of the favourites going into events, he admitted it adds pressure.

“Each week, you are going to play strong opponents who will want to beat you as you are No. 2 in the world,” Medvedev said. “I played quite good tennis at Wimbledon, but being top four in the world, even though it was a tough five-set battle against Hubert Hurkacz, to lose in the fourth round at a Grand Slam was not a good result.”

Medvedev will begin his Toronto campaign against Brit Daniel Evans or Alexander Bublik, whom the Russian leads 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head Series.

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Nadal: 'The Main Thing Is To Feel I'm Improving'

Second seed Rafael Nadal believes he is feeling physically stronger ahead of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers as he continues to manage a foot injury that has plagued him since Roland Garros.

The Spaniard has won Canada’s ATP Masters 1000 event five times, capturing back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019. However, Nadal is focusing on gradual improvement on the eve of the tournament in Toronto.

View Singles Draw

“I am going day by day,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament press conference. “The main thing is to try and feel I am improving and feel I am playing better and better, which is the goal at this tournament.

“I need to have a couple of weeks with less pain to have the confidence again with my movement. I am coming here to try and win, but also to keep feeling positive with my foot. I am not at my peak yet, but I have been practising better than I played in Washington, so I am excited to play here. Hopefully, I will be able to compete well.”

Nadal has been managing his foot injury since June when he reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros. The Spaniard returned last week at the Citi Open for the first action since Paris. Nadal defeated Jack Sock but fell to Lloyd Harris in the third round. However, the Spaniard left Washington with fewer injury concerns than when he arrived.

“I couldn’t practise for a couple of weeks [after Roland Garros],” Nadal said. “It was around 20 days without a racquet trying to recover. Also, [it was difficult] mentally as well. I didn’t play well enough [at Roland Garros].

“Last week in Washington, the first round was tough with my foot, but in the second round, I felt a little bit better. Even if I lost, that is a positive thing for me. It is about trying to find the routine again on court. Trying to be competitive again. I need to have the feeling of playing a few days in a row without any problems.”

Nadal, who will begin against South African Harris or a qualifier, captured his first National Bank Open Presented by Rogers title in 2005 in Montreal, with Toronto sharing hosting duties with the Quebec City. As he aims for a Canada Masters 1000 hat-trick this coming week, having captured the trophy in 2018 and 2019, the 35-year-old is happy to be back in Canada where he has experienced so much success.

“I am happy to be here,” Nadal added. “It is a place where I have had a lot of success in the past and many good memories.

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Skupski/Venus Set Klaasen/McLachlan Final In Washington

Second seeds Neal Skupski and Michael Venus cruised past #NextGenATP tandem Sebastian Korda and Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-0 to book a place in the Citi Open doubles final.

The Brit and Aussie team is making a successful debut, reaching the final in their first tournament together without dropping a set. The pair continued to dominate against Korda and Sinner, another team making its doubles debut. Skupski and Venus did not face a break point, and won 87 per cent of points (26/30) behind their first serves to win in 44 minutes. 

Earlier in the season, Skupski reached back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 finals with Daniel Evans in Miami and Monte-Carlo (l. to Mektic/Pavic both times) and lifted the trophy in Acapulco with brother Ken Skupski. Venus, who clinched the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics with Marcus Daniell last week, won two titles with two partners in 2021: Hamburg with Tim Puetz and Geneva with John Peers.

Skupski and Venus will meet fourth seeds Raven Klaasen and Ben McLachlan in the final, after the South African and Japanese duo defeated Marcus Daniell and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 7-5 in a hotly contested semi-final. 

Anyone know how many times @marcelomelo83 has been hit? ?‍♂️

We’ve honestly lost count ?

?: @TennisTV | @CitiOpen pic.twitter.com/jfj2bskpz0

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2021

After narrowly taking the first set, Klaasen and McLachlan raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. But after surrendering the double break to Daniell and Melo, they regrouped to edge back in front and seal the victory in an hour and 20 minutes.

Klaasen and McLachlan are seeking their first title of the year in Washington, D.C. The pair recently reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, and made the semi-finals at ATP 250 events in Santiago, Estoril and Geneva. 

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