Whether we think of the Raonic-Pospisil semi-final in 2013, Denis Shapovalov beating Rafael Nadal in 2017, or Novak Djokovic revealing himself to the tennis world at Jarry Park, the National Bank Open has created its share of memorable moments over the years. It’s, let’s say, off to a less good start this year, with the opening defeats of the five Canadians in the running: Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil and Gabriel Diallo.
A first since 2005
The younger generation may not know it, but Canadian tennis has not always had a presence in the top 30 world. This edition of the Montreal tournament takes us back to that time when the country was lucky to have a representative in the top 100. This is the first time since 2005 that no Canadian has reached the second round of the Montreal tournament, during the men’s portion of the competition. Late Wednesday night, tournament director Valérie Tétreault said she was “disappointed, like the fans,” with the turn of events. “In recent years, if there are games where we’ve been thrilled, it’s with the Canadians’ victories,” she agreed. “The more there are in the draw, the better our chances. For Félix, we were aware that we had to manage our expectations, that we were asking a lot of him with the transition from Paris. Plus, he was playing against an opponent who seemed to see the ball as a beach ball!”
From passes to trash cans
Raonic and Pospisil’s cases are even more painful, as both are packing up for health reasons. Raonic threw in the towel about thirty minutes before his match on Tuesday, while Pospisil did so after three games on Wednesday. The latter said, as recently as Sunday, that he was fully healthy “for the first time in 18 months.” “In Paris, Milos was injury-free. It was a stroke of bad luck,” Tétreault said. “These are things you can’t control, but they are more present when a player is near the end of his career.” The problem is that the two veterans gained access to the main draw thanks to byes. And these byes are often awaited by young players trying to break through, and for whom such direct access provides a serious financial boost. This is the case for Alexis Galarneau, who had to go through qualifying, where he was defeated in the second round. “I think of other young people, I’ve already been in their shoes,” recalled Tétreault. “I’m able to put myself in Alexis’ shoes who watches it go, who fought hard, who played well in qualifying. He wanted it, the wild card.”
The stars
These losses for the Canadians come on top of the absences of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, probably the two biggest stars on the circuit right now, even if Djokovic is not unanimous. Speaking of not unanimous, Alexander Zverev, a month after an out-of-court settlement cancelled his domestic violence trial, is among the headliners still in the running. It remains to be seen what kind of reception he will receive. In any case, there will be more space for Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, Grand Slam champions. “When I see a Daniil Medvedev at 11 o’clock on centre court, I think it’s a strong start. When you see the sequence of Medvedev, Zverev and Sinner, it shows that there are still a lot of big stars in the draw.”
Damn weather
Last year, the WTA had its hands full with the weather, with the result that Liudmila Samsonova had to play her semi-final and the final on the same day. She had no more juice in the final and was destroyed 6-1 and 6-0. Bad weather is expected to disrupt the schedule again this weekend, a distant consequence of the tropical storm Debby. Therefore, all second-round matches have been scheduled for Thursday, so that all players are at the same point in case of rain on Friday. “For Friday, the latest news is that we could have a few windows to play. What we don’t want is continuous rain for several hours. If we can find two or three windows, that’s enough to play matches and not lose the day. So I’m hanging on to the window!” The OBN has also hired a meteorologist, a new feature this year, in order to make more informed decisions in relation to the vagaries of the weather.