ATP Masters Toronto: No freedom for the players
At the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto, the participants will be subject to strict conditions. And they are only allowed to stay in the hotel or on the complex.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jul 19, 2021, 01:38 pm
Rafael Nadal will probably think twice about the relatively short trip from Washington DC to Toronto: Because it looks like the participants in the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada will have to get by with very few freedoms: no walks, no leaving the Hotels - unless it goes to the facility. It was like that at Wimbledon. But there were at least Grand Slam honors up for grabs. Nadal, of course, had no desire for the third major of the year, the epic semi-final defeat against Novak Djokovic in Roland Garros probably had an effect.
But if the pitch is served in Toronto on August 9th, Nadal could interrupt his North American hard court tour, which he started early. The 20-time Grand Slam champion had decided not to travel to the US Open last fall, and Nadal was not happy with the prospect of the first real bubble in the tennis circuit.
Nadal would come as a two-time defending champion
Basically, Toronto has reduced itself to a 48 grid. The absolute minimum for a tournament in the 1000 category. After the tennis competitions at the Olympic Games will end on July 30th, the Tokyo drivers should at least have enough time to travel to Canada. Who this will be, however, remains open. Dominic Thiem will definitely still be missing, hardly imaginable that Novak Djokovic will not allow himself a longer break after the Olympics and not only return to Cincinnati. The series of winners at the Masters events this year is mixed up anyway: Hubert Hurkacz won in Miami, Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo. Alexander Zverev was successful for the second time in Madrid and Rafael Nadal struck in Rome in the Foro Italico.
Incidentally, Nadal has basically nothing against traveling to Canada, especially from a sporting point of view: In 2018 and 2019 he won the 1000s in Montréal and Toronto. In total, Nadal holds five titles in Montreal and Toronto. The fast court in Cincinnat a week later is traditionally not that good for the Mallorcan.