The Toronto Masters will begin from August 4 and it will have the world’s top 42 players participating in it, barring the legendary Novak Djokovic. The event is much anticipated as part of the ‘North American swing’ on the ATP Tour, largely being a precursor to the US Open every year.
The conditions and courts in Toronto are similar to New York City, making it a vital tournament to win apart from 1000 points in the rankings. Over the years, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have gone on to co-own a record which has never been seen in the history of the game, thanks to the Toronto Masters.
Federer, Nadal have won US Open in same year as Toronto Masters twice
Roger Federer was at the heights of his powers in the mid-2000s, seeing his versatility across all courts and countries. The Swiss maestro won the Toronto Masters for the first time in 2004 and co-incidentally, that was the year when he went on to win the US Open a month later also for the first time in his career. The year before that, Andy Roddick had also won the Toronto Masters prior to winning the last Grand Slam of the year.
However, the difference is Roger Federer achieved a rare feat by doing so twice in his career, repeating his 2004 magic in 2006 as well. The competition in the Toronto Masters back in the day was so intense that Federer’s achievement took 13 years to be replicated. It was none other than Rafael Nadal who did so.
Rafael Nadal had a comeback season in 2013 which few could only aspire to do, after suffering from a career-threatening injury. The Spaniard, against all odds, won in Toronto and followed that up with a US Open win. The former World No.1 seemed to be in the same beast mode in 2019 as well, which was a much greater achievement since he was 33 at the time. As a result, Nadal is the oldest men’s singles player in the last 20 years to do the Toronto and US Open double.
Co-incidentally, Nadal is tied with Ivan Lendl when it comes to winning the most number of Toronto Masters titles in the men’s singles category in the Open Era, i.e. 5.
Some players have managed to do the double at least once, with Daniil Medvedev being the most recent in 2021. Novak Djokovic did it in 2011 as well. Before Andy Roddick in 2003, Marat Safin achieved it in 2000, while the great Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl also did it in 1994 and 1987 respectively.
Can Carlos Alcaraz replicate Roger Federer double in Toronto Masters and US Open 2023?
With Novak Djokovic opting out and Rafael Nadal injured, Carlos Alcaraz becomes the overwhelming favourite to win the Toronto Masters. However, Daniil Medvedev has his experience which could make him challenge the young Spaniard. It is interesting to note though that another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta is the defending champion.
But many argue that the competition last year was weaker due to other factors such as Covid-19 restrictions and players opting to directly travel to the United States to prepare in different ways for the US Open. This year, apart from Alcaraz and Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz are also in the fray to make a strong impact on the tournament. Home favorites Felix Augur-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov will be back fresh from injuries and a break, making the draw wide open.
