After six days of intense competition, a winner has finally been crowned at this year's Rogers Cup. The Toronto-based tennis tournament, also known as the Canadian open, was founded way back in 1881 and has seen a cavalcade of stars throughout its 137 years. Despite that long history, it may be hard to find a more storybook performance than this year's edition.
If you've been following the ATP World Tour this season, you won't be surprised to hear that Rafael Nadal is walking away with Rogers Cup hardware. The 32-year-old veteran defeated young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final match yesterday by sets 6-2, 7-6 (4). To reach that stage, runner-up Tsitsipas beat four top-10 players including Dominic Thien, Alexander Zverev, and Kevin Andersen. At only 20 years of age, it's safe to say that the future looks incredibly bright for the Greek yute.
Perhaps even more impressive, however, is that victor Nadal now has his fourth Rogers Cup and a record 33 Masters 1000 titles. Speaking to press after the match, Rafa said he was still shocked at the outcome. “If you told me this two weeks ago I would not have believed it,” he began. “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.”
As for the new tennis darling, Tsitsipas, the pro is taking inspiration from his legendary opponent. “He was normal like all of us and he managed to become this beast, this monster that he is today. 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.”
You can watch some highlights below via Tennis TV's YouTube account.
