Sinner Finally Breaks Through for Biggest Title…

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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.

After the match he shared what was different about this final, compared to the two previous 1000-level finals he had contested.

“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.

Speaking about the “Alcaraz Effect” after the tournament had ended, Tournament Director Karl Hale shared the following:

“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.

Canadian Content

Who would have thought that Milos Raonic would be the last Canadian man standing in the singles draw this year in Toronto? After a nearly two-year absence from competing on the ATP due to injuries, the former World No. 3 returned to play in his hometown tournament for the first time since 2018. His welcome-home gift? A first-round encounter with ninth seed Frances Tiafoe.

With the top eight seeds all receiving first-round byes, this was literally the toughest player that Raonic could face. Raonic took that match in three tight sets and won his next round against Taro Daniel before running out of gas against Mackenzie McDonald in round three. A very respectable showing and a reminder of how good he can still be.

Another Canadian who enjoyed a good showing in Toronto was 21-year-old Gabriel Diallo who won his first ever ATP level match 7-6 (4), 7-5 over Dan Evans. Diallo stands an impressive 6’8’’ and says he has tried to model his game after Raonic.

Felix Auger-Aliassime saw his recent troubles extended as he lost for the seventh time in his last eight matches. The positive lining to this result was that Auger Aliassime at least was feeling healthy for the first time in a long while with his knee now fully healed.

Other Canadian results included a closely contested first-round loss from Alexis Galarneau who pushed a Top 25 opponent in Francisco Cerundolo in their Centre Court encounter. Galarneau led 3-0 in the final set but nerves kicked in and Cerundolo raised his game to take the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

Finally, veteran Vasek Pospisil was also defeated in the first round by qualifier Matteo Arnaldi in just his third tournament back in action after missing five months with injury.

Doubles

Jean-Julien Rojer and Marcelo Arevalo were the winners of the doubles draw at the NBO in 2023. The pair displayed incredible chemistry all week long and radiated positivity on the court in their matches that helped lead them to the biggest title they’ve achieved as a team.

The pair were dominant in the final on Sunday, dispatching the No. 3 seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 6-1. With the victory, they jump up from No. 21 in the ATP Doubles rankings to No. 7 which will put them in good standing for the draw at the US Open later this month.