Results

The National Bank Open has once again provided Canadian tennis fans with an event to remember as it captivated the country over the last week here in Toronto. From a first ever appearance by World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to a return to the Toronto event for Milos Raonic, there were plenty of exciting story lines to follow.

It was the third straight year, and fourth time in the last five editions of the tournament, to see an unseeded finalist in the event and Alex de Minaur was a very deserving continuation of that trend with his incredible play in Toronto this year.

In the final, he met seventh-seed Jannik Sinner who came into the match with a heavily slanted 4-0 head-to-head advantage over his Australian opponent. Sinner was the more consistent player between the two on Sunday and handled the wind and the pressure of the moment without ever wavering. He took the match 6-4, 6-1 for the first Masters 1000 title of his young career.

“I think, as I said before the final, finals are a little bit different. And when you play for such an important trophy, when you get used to it a little bit before – on your feelings before the match and also during the match, trying to stay quiet, calm mentally. And I think everything together today I was doing better than in the previous two finals in the Masters series. I was very focused about my game, what I had to do, and I felt like I was executing it in the right way. So I’m very happy.

The Italian, at 21 years of age, is the youngest winner of the NBO since Alexander Zverev, who was 20 when he won the event in Montreal back in 2017. He had to overcome Matteo Berrettini, Gael Monfils, Tommy Paul and then de Minaur to take home the trophy. He moves up to a career-best No. 6 in the ATP rankings with the victory.

Rest of the Field

The Toronto draw was one filled with upsets with top seeds such as Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas going out early. Unseeded players like Mackenzie McDonald, Gael Monfils and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina all had terrific showings.

It was a second career Masters 1000 semifinal for the highly underrated Davidovich Fokina who had played great all week until the wind got the better of him in his semifinal match against de Minaur.

There were several matches that could have been deemed the “match of the tournament,” however the round of sixteen clash between Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz was definitely a strong candidate. Alcaraz dropped the opening set and then had to rely on a tiebreak in the second set to keep the match alive. The No. 1 then led 5-2 in the third set but relinquished that lead to Hurkacz who evened things up and forced yet another breaker to determine the match.

Alcaraz, who was making his debut in Toronto, was treated to rousing applause from the local fans every time he stepped on court.

“He obviously loved Toronto. He really enjoyed the experience. We really looked after him. The team was tremendous. And his team is very much like Rafa’s team. They’re a family. They’re very close-knit. The buzz around him is something we’ve never seen before…it really bodes well for the future of our sport that he is taking the torch over from the Big Three.”

The men’s event set a record for Toronto with over 175,000 fans descending on Sobeys Stadium throughout the week, which is partly a testament to how excited people were to catch Alcaraz and other up-and-coming ATP stars in action here for the first time.

Courtesy: Mike McIntyre – “Sinner Finally Breaks Through For Biggest Title In Toronto”

AUGUST 15, 2023