Tennis News

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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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.

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“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.

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“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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40 Stats For Roger Federer's 40th Birthday

In honour of Roger Federer’s 40th birthday, the ATP Tour is celebrating by reliving 40 facts, moments or memories that have made his tennis career spectacular thus far.

40 – The age Federer is now! The Swiss is the only 40-year-old inside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, the elite group he has been part of — without dropping from it — since 11 October 1999
39 – Combined wins against Novak Djokovic (23) and Rafael Nadal (16)
38 – Age when Federer won his most recent title at the 2019 Swiss Indoors Basel. He has lifted the trophy at his hometown tournament 10 times
37 – Age when Federer won his 100th tour-level title at the 2019 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. The only other player who has also reached that milestone is Jimmy Connors, who captured 109 trophies

^{The Swiss claimed his 100th tour-level title in Dubai in 2019. Photo Credit: Francois Nel/Getty Images}
36 – Federer’s age the last time he was No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings the week of 18 June 2018, making him the oldest World No. 1 in history
35 – Consecutive matches won by Federer in 2005, which he topped with 41 straight wins in 2006-07
34 – Combined wins against former Top 10 players David Ferrer (17-0) and Mikhail Youzhny (17-0) without losing a match
33 – Five-set wins in his career
32 – Age when his second set of twins — brothers Leo and Lenny — were born on 6 May 2014. Federer and his wife, Mirka, also have twin daughters, Myla and Charlene, who were born on 23 July 2009
31 – Different tournaments won in 19 different countries
30 – Number of countries where Federer has played since making his ATP Tour debut in 1998
29 – Days to win three titles on three different surfaces in 2004 (Wimbledon, Gstaad, Toronto)
28 – ATP Masters 1000 titles

^{Federer’s most recent Masters 1000 title came in Miami in 2019. Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}
27 – Longest Grand Slam win streak of his career (twice), snapped by Rafael Nadal in the 2006 and 2007 Roland Garros finals
26 – Indoor titles, leading all active players. Andy Murray is second among active players with 15 indoor trophies
25 – Countries represented by the 51 players whom Federer has defeated for his 103 titles
24 – From 2003-05, Federer won 24 consecutive finals that he played in and 24 straight matches against Top-10 opponents
23 – Wins needed for Federer (1,251) to match Jimmy Connors’ record of 1,274 tour-level victories
22 – Age at which Federer first climbed to No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings
21 – Years since the Swiss made his first ATP Tour final in Marseille in 2000
20 – Grand Slam titles
19 – Grass-court titles, nine more than second on the Open Era list, Pete Sampras
18 – Consecutive Fans’ Favourite crowns in the ATP Awards, taking the title each year from 2003-2020
17 – Seed at the 2017 Australian Open when he came back from knee surgery to win the title

^{Federer won the 2017 Australian Open as the 17th seed. Photo Credit: Getty Images}
16 – Federer’s year-end FedEx ATP Ranking in 2016, which remains his only year-end ranking outside of the Top 10 since 2001
15 – Total losses in a three-year span (2004-2006) in 262 matches
14 – Consecutive years spent inside the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings (2002-2016)
13 – Number of match wins in his first full season on the ATP Tour in 1999
12 – Career-high titles won in a single season in 2006
11 – Grand Slam runner-up finishes
10 – Consecutive Grand Slam finals reached from 2005 Wimbledon through the 2007 US Open. He won the title in eight of those events
9 – Federer is No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on his 40th birthday
8 – Doubles titles won, including a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 alongside Stan Wawrinka
7 – Number of Grand Slam finals won before first loss (2006 Roland Garros to Nadal)
6 – Nitto ATP Finals trophies
5 – Year-end No. 1 finishes (2004-07, 2009)
4 – He is one of four players to finish at No. 1 in the year-end FedEx ATP Rankings in at least four consecutive years, joining Pete Sampras (6), Jimmy Connors (5) and John McEnroe (4)
3 – Won three Grand Slams in a calendar year on three occasions, in 2004, 2006 and 2007. Federer and Novak Djokovic are the only players to accomplish that feat
2 – Tournaments at which Federer has won 10 titles. He has done so at the Swiss Indoors Basel and the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle
1 – Federer has spent 310 weeks atop the FedEx ATP Rankings, including a record 237 consecutive weeks from 2004-08

– Statistical assistance provided by Joshua Rey

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Shapo In Toronto: 'I'm Becoming A Really Big Threat

After a grass season to remember, Denis Shapovalov is relishing the return to hard courts on home soil in Toronto as he gears up for the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the North American swing at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Shapovalov turned heads in July as he reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, defeating Andy Murray, Roberto Bautista Agut and Karen Khachanov along the way. He arrives in Toronto back in the Top 10 of FedEx ATP Rankings, equalling his career-high at World No. 10.

The 22-year-old enters his home event as the fifth seed, landing in the same half of the draw as World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, and could face Olympic medalist Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals. But after his Wimbledon run, Shapovalov told the media that he backs his chances against any player.

“I’m super excited, the momentum is great from Wimbledon and I just feel like the past couple of months my game level has improved a couple more steps up,” Shapovalov said in a pre-tournament press conference. “I just feel like a confident player right now, I feel like I’m able to compete with anyone. I feel like I’m becoming a really big threat. Those are definitely super positive things for me.” 

The Canadian has certainly proved that he is an all-surface threat in 2021. On clay, Shapovalov pushed eventual champion Rafael Nadal to the limit in Rome, holding two match points before the Spaniard fought his way back. Rather than dwell on the defeat, he bounced back by reaching his first clay-court final the next week in Geneva (l. to Ruud). 

“I think it’s always important to back yourself in sports in general, but especially in tennis. If you’re going out in the match and you don’t fully believe you can win, then you obviously don’t have a chance. In this sport, anyone can beat anyone on any given day,” he reflected. 

 

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A post shared by Denis Shapovalov (@denis.shapovalov)

After missing Roland Garros due to a shoulder injury, Shapovalov hit the ground running on the lawns of London. He reached the semi-finals at cinch Championships, and backed it up at Wimbledon as he battled his way into the last four before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Shapovalov was left in tears after pushing Djokovic across three very close sets, losing 7-6(3), 7-5, 7-5 to the eventual champion, but he looks back on the moment as a crucial learning experience: he measured his game against the best, and realised that he can go toe-to-toe with them.

“For me, I’ve always backed myself against any player, but especially in that Wimbledon I felt like my game was really at that level to go far and even lift that title,” Shapovalov said. “It was a good feeling. And coming off of that tournament, all the emotion from those two weeks kind of got to me – that’s why I had that reaction [crying] after the match. It was just a combination of everything.”

Into the second round in Toronto with a bye, fifth seed Shapovalov awaits the winner of Sebastian Korda and a qualifier. The Canadian has previously reached the semi-finals in 2017 with victories over Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro, and owns a 8-4 record at the event.

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McDonald Outlasts Nishikori To Reach First Final In Washington

Mackenzie McDonald is through to his first ATP Tour final at the Citi Open after winning a hard-fought battle against former champion Kei Nishikori 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 on Saturday. 

The American arrived in Washington, D.C. looking for momentum, having not won back-to-back tour-level main draw matches since the Australian Open in February. McDonald found that and more in the American capital, toppling Nick Kyrgios and 13th seed Benoit Paire on his way to the semi-finals. 

He had to face 2015 Citi Open champion Nishikori, a player McDonald has idolised since childhood. McDonald fired 30 winners, including 21 off of his forehand, to outlast Nishikori after two hours and 43 minutes.

“I’m super happy with my level right now and how I’m playing. I think I’m staying focussed throughout these matches which is really key, and something I don’t think I could have done a couple of years ago,” McDonald said in an on-court interview. “I’m super excited to be in a final, my first one. And here in the States, in D.C., it’s something special.”

McDonald will face #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner for the first time on Sunday for a shot at his first ATP Tour trophy. Sinner edged past 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby 7-6(2), 6-1 earlier in the day to advance. 

The No. 107 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings had to stay focussed to keep Nishikori at bay, as the pair traded eight breaks of serve between them across the first two sets. Every time McDonald took the lead, Nishikori was right back in it as the Japanese player covered the court and changed direction of the ball to keep McDonald under pressure. 

After reeling off the last four games of the second set to level the match at a set apiece, the momentum was firmly with Nishikori. The Japanese player created three break points across two service games in the final set, but McDonald found some big serves to keep himself in the contest. McDonald finally broke through late in the set, dodging a tie-break as he ripped a forehand return to force an error from the Nishikori racquet to seal the victory. 

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Sinner Halts Brooksby In #NextGenATP Clash To Reach Washington Final

In an exciting first chapter of a future ATP Tour rivalry, 19-year-old Jannik Sinner took down 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby in a tight 7-6(2), 6-1 battle on Saturday to reach the Citi Open final in his tournament debut.

Sinner, seeded fifth, has yet to drop a set all week in Washington, D.C., an emphatic return to form after arriving in the American capital on a four-match losing streak. After returning to his winning ways against Emil Ruusuvuori in his opening match, Sinner has navigated past three American opponents in 12th seed Sebastian Korda, Steve Johnson and wild card Brooksby to reach his third final of the year. 

The Italian will await the winner of 2015 Washington champion Kei Nishikori and unseeded American Mackenzie McDonald. He seeks his second ATP Tour title of the year after starting the season with a victory in Melbourne, and the third title of his career. 

The No. 24-ranked Italian was made to work against Brooksby, who has gone from strength to strength in his breakthrough year. The 19-year-old American reached his first final in his ATP Tour debut in Newport, and maintained the momentum in Washington as he reached the semi-final without dropping a set – including a victory over second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime along the way. 

There was little to separate Sinner and Brooksby in a tightly contested opening set. Neither player was able to create a break opportunity across the first 10 games, with Brooksby’s unorthodox style keeping Sinner contained from the back of the court. The American kept his opponent on the move and pushed Sinner deep behind the baseline, before going to the double-handed backhand drop shot to great success.

But as the match went on, Sinner seemed to be able to read the Brooksby game better. The Italian dialed up the aggression on his serve, troubling Brooksby with a high-bouncing kick serve to save three set points at 5-6 and send them into a tie-break. Sinner took control from there, reeling off the last four points in a row to edge through the set in 57 minutes.

With the opening set in the bag – the first set that Brooksby had dropped all week long – the floodgates seemed to open for Sinner as he settled into the contest. Brooksby, who normally dictates play with his backhand, saw his unforced error count rise as 15 of his 16 mishits came from that wing. Sinner capitalised, breaking twice and reeling off the last five games in a row to seal the victory. 

Did You Know?
Sinner is the first Italian finalist in Washington, D.C. tournament history. His appearance in the semi-final marked only the third time that an Italian has made the last four since the event started in 1969 (Barazzutti in 1980, Furlan in 1996). 

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Defending Champion Nadal Eyes Harris Revenge In Toronto

The draw is out for the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the North American hard-court swing, and defending champion Rafael Nadal could be eyeing a dose of revenge in his first match at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. 

Nadal shook off the rust last week in Washington, D.C., where he contested his first hard-court event since February. But his debut was cut short in the Round of 16 by an inspired performance from South Africa’s Lloyd Harris – the same player he could face in his Toronto opening match. Nadal, seeded second, awaits the winner of Harris and a qualifier in the second round. 

Click Here For Full Toronto Singles Draw

The Spaniard has won the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers trophy five times: twice in Toronto and three times in Montreal as the ATP Masters 1000 event alternates host cities every year. In 2018 and 2019, Nadal completed the Montreal-Toronto double, winning back-to-back titles in each city. With a 38-8 record, including a perfect 5-0 mark in finals, across 13 appearances, the Canadian tournament is Nadal’s most successful hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event. 

Nadal will have no shortage of challenges as he seeks a sixth trophy in the Great White North: if he gets through his second-round test, he could be in for a potential meeting with 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov or an unseeded Nick Kyrgios in the next round. Dimitrov awaits the winner of Kyrgios and big-serving Reilly Opelka. 

Also in Nadal’s half of the draw, third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas anchors the action as he contests his first tournament since the Tokyo Olympics. Tsitsipas has shined on clay-courts this year, but his hard-court results include a semi-final run at the Australian Open (l. to Medvedev) and final in Acapulco (l. to Zverev). 

The Greek player has landed in a tricky section, and could meet 15th seed Aslan Karatsev in the third round. Tsitsipas will start against the winner of Ugo Humbert and Lorenzo Sonego, while Karatsev awaits either Cameron Norrie or Karen Khachanov. 

Hello ?? ?

— Daniil Medvedev (@DaniilMedwed) August 7, 2021

World No. 2 Daniil Medevedev is the top seed in Toronto, and he could face a familiar foe in the second round. Medvedev, who reached the 2019 final (l. to Nadal), awaits the winner of Daniel Evans and Alexander Bublik. It would be the Russian’s first meeting with the fast-rising Evans, and a rematch of his Roland Garros opener with Bublik. Should he advance, he could book a third-round clash with #NextGenATP Jannik Sinner.

Countryman Andrey Rublev is also in Medvedev’s half, seeded fourth. He could meet 13th seed Cristian Garin in the third round, but would have to navigate past a section that includes an unseeded John Isner, who recently won an ATP 250 title in Atlanta. Rublev will face the winner of Jan-Lennard Struff and Fabio Fognini in his first match. 

Projected Toronto Quarter-finals:
[1] Daniil Medvedev vs [7] Hubert Hurkacz
[4] Andrey Rublev vs [5] Denis Shapovalov
[6] Casper Ruud vs [3] Stefanos Tsitsipas
[8] Diego Schwartzman vs [2] Rafael Nadal

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Mike DePalmer Jr., Former Pro & Boris Becker Coach, Dies Aged 59

Former pro Mike DePalmer Jr., who worked with a number of future ATP/WTA Tour stars at the IMG Academy (formerly named the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy) and was a touring coach with Boris Becker for six years, passed away aged 59 on Saturday due to stage 4 cancer.

DePalmer and his sister, former Top 100 pro Michelle, attended Nick Bollettieri’s junior camps in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin in the early 1970s, and Bollettieri soon became friends with their father, Mike DePalmer Sr., establishing the DePalmer-Bollettieri Tennis Academy at West Bradenton in 1978. Former World No. 5 Jimmy Arias briefly lived with the DePalmer family and the pair became hitting partners and lifelong friends.

DePalmer Jr. was ranked No. 5 in the under-18 US rankings in 1979-80, represented the junior Davis Cup team, and went on to become a two-time All American (1981-82) at the University of Tennessee, where his father, Mike Sr., was the head tennis coach from 1980 to 1994. The 6’1” DePalmer Jr. compiled a 68-14 singles record and 46-12 in doubles for the Vols. In the 1981 season, he won 27 consecutive No. 1 singles matches and recorded 30 doubles wins with Paul Annacone in 1982.

Bye old friend , Godspeed ?Mike DePalmer Jr , will miss you pic.twitter.com/A2swzUYZUG

— Paul Annacone (@paul_annacone) August 7, 2021

Soon after turning pro in July 1982, left-hander DePalmer reached his lone tour-level singles final at Ancona, Italy, losing to Anders Jarryd, and later recorded his biggest win over Jimmy Connors in the 1985 cinch Championships first round at The Queen’s Club. But it was as a doubles competitor, mainly in tandem with Gary Donnelly, that DePalmer enjoyed his greatest successes, going 3-5 in team finals. They reached two semi-finals in New York at the 1985 US Open (l. to Flach/Seguso) and at the 1986 Nitto ATP Finals (l. to Edberg/Jarryd). Overall, DePalmer won six doubles titles from 12 finals between 1984 and 1989.

In playing retirement, DePalmer worked as a Director Elite with the likes of Mark Philippoussis, Mary Pierce, Anna Kournikova, Tommy Haas and Max Mirnyi at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.

And it was in that capacity that he travelled the world with Nick Bollettieri. DePalmer was Becker’s full-time coach between 1994 and 1999, including the German’s title run at the 1996 Australian Open (d. Chang). In his 2003 autobiography, The Player, Becker wrote, “[DePalmer] was a coach who had learned discipline with the US Navy SEALs… He could be brutal. All the same, I stayed with him for five years, longer than I stayed with any other coach.

“We managed to strike a balance between the relationship we had as friends and that we had as employer-employee… With Mike DePalmer, I reached the level of obsession a player needs to set all his energy free. You have to go as far as the border of madness without crossing over the line.”

DePalmer later partnered with former IMG Academy alumni Mark Davis to open the MAD Academy in Naples, Florida, and most recently worked at the Tennessee Tennis Club and Academy in Knoxville. His father, Mike DePalmer Sr., passed away aged 86 on 9 January 2020 and earlier this year, DePalmer Jr. was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which spread to his stomach and liver. He is survived by his son, Logan.

Michael Samuel DePalmer Jr., tennis player and coach, born 17 October 1961, died 7 July 2021.

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