ATP Montreal: Rafael Nadal fights against the hard court curse
Rafael Nadal is fighting his very own hard court curse at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal: the Spaniard has never been able to defend a title on a hard court.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Aug 06, 2019, 08:06 pm
If you take a look at the tableau of the sixth ATP Masters 1000 event of the year, the name Rafael Nadal immediately catches your eye. The Mallorcan is considered a huge tournament favorite in Montreal due to the absence of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer and also starts as defending champion.
But that could again be a major problem for the 33-year-old. Because: In his career, Nadal has never been able to defend a title on hard court or turf - considering the seemingly endless list of successes, it is actually unbelievable. The Spaniard triumphed 19 times on hard court, four times on grass, but he had not yet defended his title.
At the Rogers Cup, however, the chances for the premiere don't seem too bad. The 18-time Grand Slam winner got a good draw and will face British qualifier Dan Evans in his opening game on Wednesday, who prevailed against Australian Alex de Minaur in the first round.
Four-time tournament winner in Canada
"I always had a positive feeling when I played here," said the four-time Rogers Cup winner. "The feelings on the pitch have improved day by day," said Nadal, looking forward to his first tournament since Wimbledon.
You have to put a little question mark behind the fitness of the Spaniard. At the weekend, the second in the world rankings had to cancel a planned training session. He was just a bit hit, it said from Nadal's coaching team. In the days that followed, the Mallorcan was able to complete his usual training schedule - health should therefore no longer stand in the way of a possible premiere.