If the ATP Tour calendar is a racetrack, the best tennis players in the world are more than halfway to the finish line. But two superstars have pulled away from the pack in pursuit of first place. And on Monday, Rafael Nadal will pass Novak Djokovic for the lead in the ATP Race To London, giving him the edge in the battle for the year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking.

Nadal captured his record-extending 35th ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday with a straight-sets victory against Daniil Medvedev at the Coupe Rogers, giving him 1,000 points in the Race, which will move him 500 points ahead of second-placed Djokovic. 

“I am never too confident. I always respect every situation and every opponent,” Nadal said. “That’s why I’m always putting my 100 per cent attention.”

If the 33-year-old advances to the final of the Western & Southern Open, he will hold onto the top spot regardless of Djokovic’s efforts in Cincinnati, where the Serbian is the defending champion. It has been an exciting back-and-forth battle all year between the two legends of the sport, and the tension will only build as the season continues forward.

If Nadal finishes the season atop the ATP Rankings, he will tie Djokovic, Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors for the second-most year-end No. 1 finishes in history behind only Pete Sampras (6). Djokovic, however, is trying to match Sampras’ record.

Most Year-End No. 1 Finishes In The ATP Rankings

What’s most important to Nadal is that after some early-season health struggles, he is healthy and playing good tennis, as evidenced by his performance in Montreal. The lefty has made at least the semi-finals in his past eight tournaments.

“I am healthy for a while. Since Madrid I think I have been improving in all terms, especially on the body. The body is feeling better,” Nadal said. “That makes me play better, too, because my mind is focused on tennis, not thinking about if I can do this thing or another thing.”

Nadal finished his run in Canada in exceptionally strong form, winning eight of the final nine games against Medvedev. The Spaniard knew that the Russian had shown a high level all week, making the final without dropping a set. So Nadal, as always, kept his foot on the gas.

“In this sport you are never under full control. Things change very quickly. When you play against almost every player, when you play Masters 1000s, every single match is tough. Everybody has the potential to cause problems and everybody is dangerous,” Nadal said. “Even if you are winning, especially today I was winning 6-3, 4-0, I know I have an advantage, but of course I cannot be 100 per cent calm knowing that I [am] going to win the match.”

The 83-time tour-level titlist enjoyed the atmosphere, too, as the Montreal fans showed their love for Nadal from the moment he arrived. It is his third victory in Montreal, and his fifth in Canada.

“Every single place has a different atmosphere, different feeling. Every place is special by itself. But honestly here, I think they are very passionate about the sport. They are very passionate about tennis,” Nadal said. “I always felt when I have been playing here, [there has] always an unbelievable atmosphere out here, full crowd. That’s so important for our sport and for me personally.”

Nadal won his first hard-court title at 2005 Montreal, defeating Andre Agassi in the final. And one thing has remained a constant for him in this city: his driver, Jacque.

“He is not only a good luck charm, [he] is a great man. I am super happy when I see him, always,” Nadal said. “We know each other since a long time. It’s great to have him around.”

Rafael Nadal is one set away from a record-extending 35^th ATP Masters 1000 title. The Spaniard leads Daniil Medvedev 6-3 on Sunday at the Coupe Rogers, breaking the Russian in the fourth game when Medvedev double faulted.

The first-time finalist was matching Nadal from the baseline in the early going, teasing the crowd with gut-busting rallies of 24 shots and 32 shots in the opening game. But Nadal found his way to net more often as the set progressed (8/10), striking high and heavy forehands in windy conditions, and he benefitted from the slightest dip in level from Medvedev.

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The World No. 8 and Nadal are facing off for the first time in the final of the season’s sixth Masters 1000 tournament. Nadal, a four-time champion (2005, 2008, 2013, 2018), is looking to win his third tour-level title of the year and his first hard-court crown of the season.

Medvedev is going for his second ATP Tour title of the year and his fifth overall (4-4). If Medvedev can come back, he’d become the ninth player to win a maiden Masters 1000 title during the past 20 events in the series.

Forget the “King of Clay”, a nickname that doesn’t truly reflect Rafael Nadal’s mastery of all surfaces during his legendary ATP Tour career. How about “King of Masters”?

Nadal already owns the most ATP Masters 1000 wins in the series’ 30-year history, 380, two better than longtime rival Roger Federer. The Spaniard advanced to his 51^st final at the elite level, one better than Federer’s 50, on Saturday when Gael Monfils withdrew (ankle) from their Coupe Rogers semi-final.

Should Nadal beat Russian Daniil Medvedev in the Montreal final on Sunday, the World No. 2 would win his 35th Masters 1000 crown, extending his all-time lead. Novak Djokovic has the second-most Masters 1000 tites, with 33.

King of Masters, indeed.

But a recounting of Nadal’s pedigree won’t tremble Medvedev, who’s into his first Masters 1000 final and has won eight of his past nine matches. “I won’t be intimidated. I want to win every match I play,” he said.

The World No. 9 has hardly been bothered all week in the French-speaking Canadian city. Medvedev, who trains in France, is sponsored by Lacoste, has a French coach (Gilles Cervara) and speaks French, has been playing as if he’s on home courts and has been embraced as one of Montreal’s own.

“After the match, everybody says, ‘Oh, you speak French, Daniil’. I think this brings the crowd to support me. It’s funny,” he said.

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The 23-year-old had reached only one Masters 1000 semi-final before this week, in April at the clay-court Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Lajovic). But hard courts, where his flat backhand can do the most damage, have long been his favourite surface. Medvedev has won all four of his ATP Tour titles on hard court and owns his best winning percentage (66%) of the three surfaces on it.

The Russian, however, has never had a week like this at a Masters 1000 event. Following his run to the Citi Open final last week (l. to Kyrgios), Medvedev dropped only three games against Brit Kyle Edmund, swept two-time ATP Tour titlist Cristian Garin of Chile 6-3, 6-3 and delivered his best show yet against No. 4 Dominic Thiem, dropping only four games.

In the semi-finals against longtime friend Karen Khachanov, Medvedev tightened up serving for the match at 5-4, but he held on to win in straight sets and improve to 8-0 in sets this week.

“It just means that I’m playing better now, that I’m able to beat these top players in two sets. It’s a great achievement,” Medvedev said.

Nadal’s only blemish came in his quarter-final against Italy’s Fabio Fognini, but the top seed and defending champion quickly erased those memories, dropping only three games in the final two sets.

“In general terms [it was] an up-and-down match, but a positive match for me because I played better and better,” Nadal said.

He and Medvedev have never met, marking the second time this season a Masters 1000 final will be the first meeting between the two finalists (Monte-Carlo, Fognini v Lajovic). If Medvedev can get off to his customary fast start, give the Russian a chance, even against the all-time Masters 1000 titles leader.

Nadal, perhaps more so than others, really arrives at top gear after a break of serve, and if Medvedev can keep holding, make yourself comfortable, because the Russian is not lacking belief.

“I’m playing very well right now,” he said. “I believe if I am able to play like this, it’s not going to be easy for Rafa. It’s going to be a big battle.”

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos played each other in doubles on seven occasions entering the Coupe Rogers, but they had never competed as a team. Pairing up has proven a good idea for the Spanish-Argentine duo in Montreal.

Granollers and Zeballos battled past Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(7), 3-6, 10-7 on Saturday to reach the championship match of the season’s sixth ATP Masters 1000 tournament, moving to 4-0 as a tandem. They won 83 per cent of their first-serve points and claimed three crucial return points in the Match Tie-break to advance after one hour and 40 minutes.

The first-time pair has enjoyed plenty of success individually. Granollers, the 2012 Nitto ATP Finals titlist with Marc Lopez, is a 17-time tour-level doubles winner. Zeballos is a 12-time ATP Tour champion, including a triumph with Nikola Mektic at the BNP Paribas Open.

In the final, Granollers and Zeballos will play Dutchmen Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof, who dismissed Indian Rohan Bopanna and #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3), 7-6(7) after one hour and 36 minutes. It is Haase and Koolhof’s second Masters 1000 final as a team this season, as they also made the championship match at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where they lost to Mektic and Franko Skugor.

Koolhof made his third final at this level this year, finishing runner-up alongside reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Haase is primarily a singles player, but he has lifted six ATP Tour doubles trophies with four different partners.

The Dutchmen won 80 per cent of their first-serve points, whereas the flashy Bopanna and Shapovalov only managed to claim 69 per cent of their first-serve points.

Eventually, the dominance of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will end. Not even the all-time greats can escape the clutches of Father Time.

But for how much longer will the ‘Big Three’ rule the tennis world with an iron fist and which players are most likely to break up the party? Asked to contemplate those questions, Andy Murray said to circle your calendar for 2021 and that the disrupters will most likely come from players currently aged 22 or younger.

“I can see something happening in the next couple of years. Maybe the next 12-18 months I don’t quite see it. But in 18 months to two years I think we’ll see some changes up there,” Murray told ATPTour.com.

“I think it will mainly come from the younger ones. That’s not to say that some of the older guys couldn’t potentially win a Slam. I just don’t see one of them becoming dominant. Potentially some of the younger guys get up to the top four or five in the world and stay there for a long period.”

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer have combined to win a staggering 160 ‘Big Titles’, comprising 54 Grand Slams, 95 ATP Masters 1000s and 11 Nitto ATP Finals. Murray was once bracketed in the ‘Big Four’ with the legendary trio, with 14 Masters 1000s, the 2016 year-end No. 1 Ranking and Nitto ATP Finals title, two Olympic singles gold medals and 45 singles titles.

Murray believes that Felix Auger-Aliassime, 19, reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, who turns 21 Monday, and Alexander Zverev, 22, are the players most likely to entrench themselves at the top of the game for an extended period.

“I like Felix. I like his game; physically he’s very strong and he looks good mentally,” Murray said. “He’s still young so he’ll need a little time. Tsitsipas has a really nice game; he’s a good athlete and his personality is great. He’s fun to watch. He has an all-round game that allows him to play well on all surfaces, which is important if you want to get up there and stay up there.

“Obviously Zverev has a lot of potential and he’s won the most of the young guys. If you have a few bad months it’s easy for people to forget that and start writing you off. But he’s a young guy who can improve a lot.

“They would be the three right now. But there could be 17-, 18-year-olds out there who I haven’t seen play much who could break through.

“Dominic Thiem has been in Slam finals and is improving all the time. He’s got a great work ethic and a big game. I see him coming through and he could potentially win majors. But in terms of dominating, I think the guys at the top will stay around a little too long for that to happen.”

Murray next week is set to return to singles competition for the first time since his emotional five-set first-round defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open, after which he underwent a second surgery on his right hip. Murray returned to the ATP Tour in June, when he partnered Feliciano Lopez to the doubles title at Queen’s. Since then he has also played doubles at Eastbourne, Wimbledon, Washington and Montreal.

In Cincinnati he will play Richard Gasquet in the first round. The winner will meet fourth-seeded Thiem.

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