Scouting Report: 10 Things To Watch In Toronto

The strongest field of the 2018 ATP World Tour season thus far is in Toronto for the Rogers Cup. Twenty-six of the Top 27 players in the ATP Rankings will play, headlined by three-time champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, four-time winner Novak Djokovic, and reigning titlist Alexander Zverev.

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10 THINGS TO WATCH IN TORONTO
1) Rafa Rolling: Nadal and Roger Federer exchanged the No. 1 ranking six times in the first six months of 2018. After advancing further than Federer at Wimbledon, Nadal now leads his longtime rival by 2,230 ATP Ranking points. Nadal is making his first appearance in Toronto since 2010, though the Spaniard has played the last seven Rogers Cups in Montreal.

2) Comeback Complete: Djokovic went 6-6 to begin the season following a six-month hiatus due to a right elbow injury. He’s gone 19-3 since then, winning his fourth Wimbledon title. In the semi-finals, Djokovic defeated Nadal 10-8 in the fifth set after five hours and 15 minutes.

3) Mastering 1000s: Zverev captured his third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open in May to join the ‘Big Four’ as the only active players with that many trophies at this level. In his opening match in Montreal last year, Zverev outlasted Richard Gasquet in a 49-shot rally to save a match point, then saved two more match points against the Frenchman. He went on to defeat Federer 6-3, 6-4 for the title.

4) Delpo’s Surge: This time one year ago, Juan Martin del Potro was No. 31 in the ATP Rankings. But the Argentine is arguably in some of the best form of his life, and if Zverev does not capture the Citi Open title on Sunday, Del Potro will climb to a career-best No. 3 on Monday. The ‘Tower of Tandil’ earned his first Masters 1000 triumph earlier this year at the BNP Paribas Open.

5) Remember When: Then-No. 143 Denis Shapovalov defeated Del Potro and Nadal en route to the 2017 Montreal semi-finals. At the age of 18, Shapovalov became the youngest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finalist in series history and the lowest-ranked since No. 191 Andrei Pavel in Paris 15 years ago to reach the last four.

6) Good Company: During his run in Montreal, Shapovalov stayed at the home of fellow Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is his doubles partner this year.. #NextGenATP 17-year-old Auger-Aliassime  is set for his Rogers Cup main draw singles debut. The five-time Grand Slam junior finalist turns 18 on 8 August.

7) Anderson Returns: After playing for 23 hours and 20 minutes at the All England Club, Wimbledon runner-up Kevin Anderson returns to the ATP World Tour this week. Anderson defeated Federer 13-11 in the fifth set in the quarter-finals and John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set in the semi-finals before falling in the championship match to Djokovic.

8) Wildest Cards: Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 3, is one of the wild cards in Toronto. The Swiss, who made the semi-finals in Toronto two years ago before losing to Kei Nishikori, is still on the comeback trail from knee surgeries.

9) 30-Love: Former World No. 1 doubles player Daniel Nestor will make his 30th straight Rogers Cup appearance before retiring this fall. The Toronto resident is 45-27 with two titles and 12 partners at his home event. Nestor teams with countryman Vasek Pospisil for the third straight Rogers Cup.

10) Magnificent Matchups: As always, there are plenty of captivating first-round matches to watch. Talented Aussie Nick Kyrgios, the 16th seed, faces Wawrinka in their fifth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic faces reigning Next Gen ATP Finals winner Hyeon Chung, 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin competes against former World No. 3 Milos Raonic and No. 11 seed Diego Schwartzman plays British No. 1 Kyle Edmund.