Tag Archives: Rogers Cup

Rafael Nadal Claims 5th Rogers Cup Title

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Rafael Nadal’s Cup runneth over…

The 33-year-old Spanish tennis star claimed his fifth Rogers Cup title after beating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 on in just 70 minutes Sunday at breezy IGA Stadium.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal won the event for the third time in Montreal. The first came in 2005 at age 19 over Andre Agassi, and the second in 2013. Nadal won in Toronto in 2008 and 2018.

“I played a solid match, my best match of the week so far without a doubt,” Nadal said. “I did a lot of things well — changing directions, changing rhythms.”

The second-rankedtenistawon his 83rd singles title and third of the year, following clay victories in Rome and at the French Open. He extended his tour record for Masters 1000titles to 35, two more than top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

“He was playing very well during the whole week. So for me, it was important in the beginning that he doesn’t take advantage, because finals are always a little bit more difficult for everyone,” Nadal said. “I’ve played a lot of these. I know beginnings can be tricky, especially against a great player like him, but especially when a player like him is playing with a lot of confidence like he was playing during the whole week.”

Medvedev, from Russia, was seeded eighth. The match was his first against Nadal.

“I knew how it’s going to be,” Medvedev said. “I was kind of ready for it. Then didn’t manage to probably show my best tennis, but at the same time, Rafa was incredible today. I need to see the match on the TV to say for sure, but congrats to him. I need to do better next time.”

Nadal had a walkover in the semifinals Saturday when Gael Monfilswithdrew because of an ankle injury.

Carla Suarez Navarro Breaks Losing Streak Against Venus Williams at Rogers Cup

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It’s a welcome snap for Carla Suarez Navarro… 

The 30-year-old Spanish tennis player, ranked No. 26 in the world, defeated Venus Williams in second round play at the Rogers Cup.

Carla Suarez Navarro

With the win, Suarez Navarro has snapped a five-match losing streak against the 56th-ranked Williams.

In all, Suarez Navarro is now 4-7 against Williams.

She’ll next faces Anett Kontaveit in the third round.

Rafael Nadal Defeats Stefanos Tsitsipas to Claim Fourth Career Rogers Cup Title

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Make that 80 for Rafael Nadal…

The 32-year-old Spanish tennis star claimed his 80th ATP World Tour title on Sunday while ruining Stefanos Tsitsipas‘ 20th birthday.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal, the top-ranked player in the tournament, beat the unseeded Greek upstart 6-2, 7-6 (4) for his fourth Rogers Cup crown and fifth victory of the year. He has 33 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles.

“If you told me this two weeks ago, I would not have believed it,” Nadal said. “It’s a great way to start the hard-court season. Winning in Toronto is so important. You don’t win Masters 1000s very often. It’s a very important victory for me and I’m very happy.”

Nadal also won the Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2008 and in Montreal in 2005 and 2013.

“I’m very happy to have this trophy with me again,” Nadal said. “It means a lot. It has been a fantastic week, a very positive one.”

Nadal later announced that he would skip a Masters tournament in Cincinnati this week to rest and get ready for the US Open.

“No other reason than personally taking care of my body and trying to keep as healthy as I feel now,” Nadal said in a statement.

Nadal’s win Sunday was notable. His previous four titles this year came on clay at the French Open, Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

He also beat Tsitsipas in in the Barcelona final.

“He was normal like all of us and he managed to become this beast, this monster that he is today,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s true … that’s how you feel when you play against him. I need to work much more and hopefully I can reach his level one day.”

Nadal overcame a late service break and fought off a set point at the Aviva Centre. He converted his first match point of the tiebreaker to end it.

“He never cracks,” Tsitsipas said. “He will always grab you like a bulldog, and he will always make you suffer on the court.”

Tsitsipas reached the final by becoming the youngest player to beat four straight top-10 players in an event since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990. He began the run against seventh-seeded Dominic Thiem, then knocked off No. 9 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Alexander Zverev and No. 4 Kevin Anderson.

Tsitsipas will jump from 27th to 15th in the world on Monday.

Lopez Defeats Milos Raonic to Reach the Rogers Cup Semifinals

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Feliciano López is the last Latino standing at the Rogers Cup…

The 32-year-old Spanish tennis player downed Canada’s Milos Raonic in Friday’s heated quarterfinal match, winning 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.

Feliciano Lopez

The unseeded Lopez broke the home favorite to love to secure the lone break in the first set, but squandered two mini-break leads in the second-set tiebreaker to keep alive Raonic’s bid for a second consecutive Rogers Cup semi-final.

The left-handed Lopez stayed with Raonic in the decider, saving the only nine break points he faced in the match while serving at 2-all.

This week, the World No. 25 has saved 27 of 29 break points faced.

He would later break the Raonic serve to go up 5-3 before comfortably holding to close out victory in one hour and 57 minutes.

He’ll next face Roger Federer in the semifinals, after the former World No. 1 defeated Lopez’s compatriot David Ferrer in three sets.

Suarez Navarro Upsets Maria Sharapova at Rogers Cup

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Carla Suarez Navarro has evened her record against Maria Sharapova.

The 25-year-old Spanish tennis player upset Sharapova in the third round at the Rogers Cup in Montreal to level their head-to-head record 1-1.

Carla Suarez Navarro

Navarro, the No 14 seed, beat the French Open champion in a hard-fought three-set match, 6-2 4-6 6-2, during their third round clash despite a second-set fightback from Sharapova and a nerve-testing final-set rain delay.

Sharapova was playing her first event since a surprise fourth-round exit at Wimbledon and has now suffered another setback ahead of the US Open.

Suarez Navarro raced through the first set and went a break up in the second, but Sharapova reeled off four straight games to level the match.

The Spaniard responded by edging ahead in the decider and although the rain break gave the underdog plenty of time to think about the situation, on the resumption Sharapova failed to mount a comeback.

Sharapova committed a grand total of 49 unforced errors during the match.

Nadal Beats Milos Raonic to Claim Rogers Cup Title

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Rafael Nadal has claimed his eighth ATP Tour title of the year…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday in the Rogers Cup final, spoiling Raonic’s bid to become the first Canadian winner in the event in 55 years.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal claimed his third Rogers Cup title, having won the title in 2005 and 2008.

“To win here, I have to be playing my top level,” said Nadal. “Very happy the way that I played almost every match in this tournament. Is very important for me, this title. Just very happy for everything.”

Nadal, playing his first tournament since a first-round loss at Wimbledon in June, posted his 58th tournament title of his career. On Saturday night in the semifinals, Nadal beat two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) to reach the final.

“I did a lot of things well,” said Nadal . “My return was huge this afternoon. I returned a few first serves of his in important moments, decisive. Then I think he play with more mistakes than usual. That helped me.”

By reaching the final, Nadal will move from fourth to third in the world rankings.

Nadal’s all-around game, particularly his superior passing shots and baseline play, proved too much for the power-hitting Raonic, who was only effective in games in which his booming serve was working.

On a windy afternoon, Nadal had two service breaks in the first set, including one after trailing 0-40, and broke again to open the second. At 2-1 in the second set, Raonic wasted three break points to let his best chance for a break slip away.

The Spaniard broke again for a 5-2 lead and served out the match.

Nadal is 4-0 against Raonic in his career.

Nadal stretched his record for wins in Masters series tournaments to 25 with his fourth this year. He is 48-3 and has reached the final of 10 out of 11 tournaments in 2013.

Nadal Defeats Novak Djokovic to Reach Rogers Cup Final

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Rafael Nadal is one step closer to earning his next ATP Tour title…

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2) in an electrifying, two-and-a-half-hour match on Saturday night to reach the Rogers Cup final.

Rafael Nadal

Nadal, ranked No. 4 in the world, beat Djokovic in the semifinals at this year’s French Open this year en route to winning the championship. He’s now aiming for his eighth title of the season but only his second on hard courts. The others have all come on clay.

“I said yesterday the only chance to win against Novak, the only tactic is to play very well,” said Nadal. “And I did. I played a very high level tonight, I think. I played with the right decisions in the important moments.”

Nadal will face Milos Raonic in Sunday’s final.

Nadal and Djokovic were playing for the 36th time, tying the record for matches contested by two players in the Open era set by John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl. Nadal leads the series 21-15, and with the win, narrowed Djokovic’s advantage on hard courts to 11-6.

“It was very close match,” said Djokovic. “Whenever we play against each other, it’s always a thrilling match for crowd to see. We are both competing at the high level. We both want to win these matches.”

Nadal, who is coming off a disappointing first-round loss at Wimbledon, opened a 6-0 lead in the third-set tiebreaker before converting on his third match point when Djokovic hit a return long.

Nadal has an ATP-best 47-3 record this year and will rise to No. 3 in the rankings, regardless of whether he wins the final.