Jannik Sinner will not retain his Masters 1000 title at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
His health condition, persistent pain in his legs, his exhaustion and Andrey Rublev’s excellent tennis are the reasons for this. At the IGA Stadium in Montreal, the world number one lost to the number five seed 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a match full of ups and downs in which he did not live up to his reputation.
Sinner had a hard time finding his position from the first point. In the cat-and-mouse game, his opponent always had the last word.
Just as the second set began, the heavens opened. After a 25-minute delay, Sinner came out of the gate strong and cornered Rublev with dominant and accurate shots.
But soon the pain and nausea set in. The third set was an absolute torture for Sinner, who was at the end of his strength. He held on until the very last point, but there was no real hope of getting back on his feet.
He made 16 unforced errors, far more than usual, and lost to Andrey Rublev for the third time in eight attempts.
Rublev, on the other hand, was unstoppable in two of the three sets. He managed to beat Sinner with his groundstrokes and kept his composure even when things weren’t going his way.
Rublev will now take part in his first ever semi-final at the National Bank Open.
Arnaldi has the last word
Matteo Arnaldi has added Kei Nishikori to his list of victims at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
On Saturday evening, he fought his way into the semifinals with a victory over the 34-year-old Japanese top player (6:4, 7:5). The latter was serving for the tiebreak, but made three errors in a row, so Arnaldi won the break and threw in the towel.
The match ended with spectacular moments after exactly two hours of intense fighting and often lengthy backcourt rallies. In this game of patience, the young right-hander from Sanremo had the last word. His more impressive serve earned him five aces (none for Nishikori).
After his victories over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the morning and Nishikori late in the evening, Arnaldi will be back on Centre Court on Sunday at 5 p.m. to face Andrey Rublev (5). To defeat this tough and experienced opponent, he will have to dig deep into his reserves, if he still has any.
Hurkacz continues to fight
Hubert Hurkacz (4) gave his all on the court in his two-hour battle against Arthur Rinderknech and secured his second three-set victory of the day (6-4, 3-6, 6-4).
He made 3 breaks (2 for Rinderknech) and 10 unforced errors (15 for Rinderknech). For a man who underwent knee surgery just last month, Hurkacz seems to be back and better than ever.
Recognition across the board
- On Saturday evening, Félix Dolci, Aurélie Tran and William Émard, three Canadian athletes who had just returned from Paris, were honored for their achievements at the Olympic Games.
- It was also Volunteer Day at the NBO in recognition of all the volunteers do, rain or shine, to make the tournament possible.
READ: Bruins fan Korda is lucky in Montreal
Zverev keeps Rune in check
Alexander Zverev (2) seemed to be on the safe side. After a break against Holger Rune and 6:4 in the first set, he was on his way to a clear victory.
But the resilient Rune wasn’t ready to pack his racquet bag just yet. The 13th seed fought back and then broke his rival, forcing a second-set tiebreak.
Zverev again took the lead with 6:2, but the Dane fought back and reduced the deficit to 6:5. In the end, the German needed six match points to seal the deal after 1:43 minutes of play (6:3, 7:6(5)) and secure his ticket to the quarterfinals.
Alexander Zverev was particularly brilliant on serve, hitting 8 aces and 2 double faults compared to 2 aces and 8 double faults for Rune.
Dimitrov runs out of steam
Veteran Grigor Dimitrov defended himself against Alexei Popyrin as long as he could, but ultimately lost 4:6, 7:6 (5), 3:6. For a long time it looked as if the Bulgarian would win the tiebreak of the second set, but he was unable to win it.
Some of the most impressive statistics of the match were put forward by Popyrin, who withstood 8 of his opponent’s 9 breaks. As for Dimitrov, the only time he got into trouble was when he was broken.
Brilliant Rublev
You can never be quite sure what kind of tennis he will serve up, but there is no denying that Andrey Rublev played brilliantly in Montreal this week. Against qualifier Brandon Nakashima of the USA, the world No. 5 was nothing short of royal.
He needed just 63 minutes to send his rival (6-2, 6-2) back to the locker room. He didn’t allow a single break point, managed six breaks against the number 52 and scored 59 points (37 for Nakashima) – a dominance that Rublev hadn’t shown for months!
In the meantime, Matteo Arnaldi took advantage of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s withdrawal. After just over two and a half hours, the Spaniard threw in the towel with the score at 0:3 in the third set.
Finally, Casper Ruud, who was supposed to challenge Sebastian Korda, canceled due to illness.
Hurkacz, in extremis
After undergoing surgery for the serious knee injury he sustained on July 9 at Wimbledon, Hubert Hurkacz (4) made his big comeback on Centre Court at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers on Saturday afternoon.
And his comeback was a complete success, as he managed to outmaneuver Thanasi Kokkinakis at the end of a marathon game (2:28).
Although his knee might have been a little stiff and he wasn’t as fast as he was earlier in the summer, Hurkacz could still count on his powerful serve and was broken only once (4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6)).
After a long back and forth in the tiebreak of the third set, the Pole was finally rewarded with his third match point.
He dominated with 43 winners (29 for Kokkinakis) and 32/40 net points won, maintaining his perfect 4-0 record against the Australian.
“I didn’t even know when I would be able to play after Wimbledon. It’s a victory that I really appreciate,” Hurkacz said after the match.
Korda displaces Fritz
The 29-year-old French right-hander Arthur Rinderknech also qualified for the third round this morning. The number 65 caused a small surprise when he elegantly eliminated the 22-year-old Flavio Cobolli, who has been playing impressive tennis recently (6-3, 6-2).
Rinderknech needed 71 minutes to book his ticket, collecting 5 break points and scoring 57 points (39 for Cobolli). His Italian rival made 18 unforced errors, often at crucial moments.
Neither Rinderknech nor Hurkacz are finished for today as they will compete against each other later.
There was also an interesting surprise for the fans on Court 9 when Sebastian Korda (6-4, 7-6(4)) defeated Taylor Fritz (9).
The only break of the match sealed the first set for Korda, who was particularly efficient with 88% of net points won and came away with 80 points (74 for Fritz), his first win against his compatriot in three attempts.
Sunday best
Tennis fans can be sure that the best is yet to come. After three of the week’s training sessions had to be postponed due to rain, Sunday will likely see a doubles schedule.
At 12:30 the tennis balls will begin with a double confrontation, followed by a program that promises to be incredible.
At 2 p.m., fans will be treated to two quarter-final singles duels. On Centre Court, Sebastian Korda, who has dethroned Taylor Fritz, will cross swords with Alexander Zverev (2), who has played super solid tennis so far and is now the logical favorite to win his second title in Montreal.
The winner of this match returns to Centre Court at 8pm for the second semi-final of the evening.
Also at 2 p.m., Hubert Hurkacz (4) will compete on Rogers Court against Alexei Popyrin, who is in top form this week.
At 5 p.m., Matteo Arnaldi will have the dubious honor of facing Andrey Rublev (5), who advanced to the semifinals by defeating world number one Jannik Sinner.
Between singles matches, fans can head to Rogers Court to watch some doubles matches.
Featured photo by: Patrice Bériault
