In one day, the National Bank Open lost their first three seeds in their opening game on Wednesday.
• Also read: National Bank Open: Alcaraz crumbles under pressure
• Also read: Nick Kyrgios defeats Daniil Medvedev at the National Bank Open
• Also read: National Bank Open: expect an unexpected final
Daniil Medvedev (1), Carlos Alcaraz (2) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) were beaten in the second round after earning a bye to the opening round and Jack Draper respectively.
It’s the first time the top three favorites in a Masters 1000 tournament have been eliminated since competing in Indian Wells, California nearly 23 years ago.
Rublev too
As Greg Sharko recalled, in 1999 ATP communications manager Pete Sampras, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Alex Corretja suffered the same fate against Felix Mantilla, Gustavo Kuerten and Mark Philippoussis.
We should also add that Montreal’s fifth seedling, Andrey Rublev, was also eliminated on Wednesday when he was defeated by Daniel Evans.
Photo Joel Lemay
Daniel Medvedev
Never in Montreal
The National Bank Open has never faced such a situation, according to its director Eugène Lapierre, who commented on this rare situation.
“It is certain that people want to see the favourites,” he said in an interview with the Journal, but we are not wrong in saying that Nick Kyrgios [qui n’était pas classé parmi les 16 favoris] attracts more than the best players in the world.
“As an organizer I want the headliners to go as far as possible but honestly if I were a spectator I would love to see Kyrgios. It’s a big attraction, like Felix [Auger-Aliassime] apparently.
“What disappointed me the most was Carlos Alcaraz’s early departure,” added Lapierre. He arrives in Montreal for the first time and the public wants to discover him. We haven’t seen it in full. »
But hey, at only 19 and already fourth in the world, we’ll see him every two years for a long time to come.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Carlo Alcaraz
It’s the fault of the… doppelganger
Many people wonder how the schedule of games each day at the National Bank Open is determined.
The answer is very simple: it all depends on the duplication of participants.
“The problem, explains Lapierre, is these players who are involved not only in singles but also in doubles.
“There is a convention in tennis that you must play your singles match before you play doubles. »
We see that in the part of the table where Auger-Aliassime is, a good number of players are also competing in doubles, including Cameron Norrie, who faced the Quebecer on Thursday.
“It’s a safe bet that all the players in this part of the roster will play their singles game throughout the day, probably through Saturday, but there’s nothing stopping us from putting them on the schedule at the end of the afternoon,” says Lapierre.
Photo: AFP
Stefanos Tsitsipas
A magical evening with Felix
Lapierre experienced great emotion on Wednesday night as he witnessed Auger-Aliassime’s first win.
“It was great to see this atmosphere,” said the boss. I was very afraid of this game. I’ve seen Quebecers and Canadians under pressure to play at home. Felix is human and he too had to endure this pressure.
“But we saw that he was able to react, which he did well,” he continued. The first sentence was tight. We all knew his opponent [le Japonais Yoshihito Nishioka] Could cause problems, as he recently demonstrated by beating good players like Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.
“Felix had to be able to abuse him in power. It was nice to see him get out of a first set [qu’il a remporté au bris d’égalité] complicated before shifting into high gear on the second run. There I realized that he was in full possession of his abilities. »