Novak Djokovic will skip the National Bank Open in Toronto, citing fatigue to explain his withdrawal. Rafael Nadal is still nursing his serious injuries and instead has 2024 in his sights, if his body wants it. As for Roger Federer, he has been enjoying a well-deserved retirement for several months now.
After Montreal last year, the Queen City will therefore in turn learn to do without the members of the famous “Big Three” starting next Monday, when the big picture matches get underway.
But to heal the wounds of those who refuse to turn the page on the two historic decades that tennis fans have just experienced, The newspaper offers you a short list of five athletes (there could have been even more) who will deserve attention next week in Toronto.
Whether it’s for their performance on the field, their personality off the court, or even… both.
Carlos Alcaraz: the prodigy who is already rewriting the record books
1st on ATP
Spain
20 ans
AFP photo
Carlos Alcaraz no longer needs an introduction as his exploits of the last year are eloquent. But it’s always good to remember how the term ‘prodigy’ isn’t overused when talking about the Spaniard.
At 20, “Carlitos” already has 12 titles to his credit. Of the lot, we find the US Open 2022 and the last Wimbledon, but also four Masters titles, the most prestigious behind the Grand Slam tournaments.
AFP photo
All while his young career was hampered by injuries, including one which forced him to miss the end of last campaign, and another which forced him to skip the Australian Open, in January.
After his New York title, Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach the No. 1 ranking, at 19 years, four months and six days, eclipsing Lleyton Hewitt.
However, even if his talent was known in the middle, it was only a few months earlier, in Madrid, that the name of the sensation had started to resonate in the ears of the general public.
The teenager was then the first player to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in turn on clay … as well as the youngest player to defeat “Rafa” on his favorite surface.
But Alcaraz is not just a precocity record machine. It’s also the face men’s tennis needed to compete with ‘Djoko’.
Because if “Carlitos” is spectacular on the ground, thanks to his speed, his powerful forehand and his spectacular passings, he also represents the perfect mix of candor and insurance once he has left the court.
AFP photo
“In the last year, people started saying that his game took on some elements of Federer, Nadal and mine. I agree with that,” Djokovic said. after his loss in five innings against Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon a few weeks ago.
Made aware of this statement by the man with 23 Grand Slam titles, Alcaraz could not help but laugh in disbelief.
Before adding: “I don’t know. He’s probably right, but I don’t want to think about it. I think I’m more of a Carlos Alcaraz and I have some good skills from each of these players.”
Holger Rune: arrogant or clairvoyant?
6th on the ATP
20 ans
Denmark
AFP photo
Holger Rune doesn’t have Carlos Alcaraz’s track record, but he’s excellent. And he knows it very well.
The Dane also had his big rise last year, first by reaching the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros, then by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Masters. At only 20 years old, he is already sixth in the world and has won four ATP titles.
But behind his cherubic face hides a player who wants more. Much more. Because what he is aiming for are the records of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, the three members of the “Big Three” whom he wishes to succeed, alongside Alcaraz and the 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner.
AFP photo
“Records are made to be broken,” he pointed out in an interview last year, while reiterating his admiration for the three legends.
Arrogant? Clairvoyant? Hard to tell this early on, but we can’t blame the youngster for his lack of ambition.
However, all is not rosy in the land of Rune which, despite its young age, has already been at the heart of certain controversies.
Like last year, at Porte d’Auteuil, when his quarter-final match lost against Casper Ruud ended with a cold handshake at the net.
Rune then blamed the Norwegian for shouting “YESSS!” in the face once the two players returned to the locker room.
An allegation that Ruud categorically denied in Norwegian media, before adding: “I don’t know Holger personally, but I saw on TV that sometimes he can be dramatic. He’s young and new, so that’s excusable, but when you get on the big stage, it’s time to grow up a bit.”
Milos Raonic: the most interesting man in tennis?
546th on ATP (missed almost two years due to injury)
32 ans
Canada
AFP photo
A few minutes spent listening to Milos Raonic are enough to understand that behind his arm capable of slamming missiles on serve hides a man who departs from the typical stereotype of the athlete.
His body, often abused by his sport since his first great feats of arms on the ATP, 12 years ago, has abandoned him during the last two seasons. For 14 months, the Ontarian was unable to hit a single ball.
Former top 3, Raonic has also considered at times to abandon his sports career. The slope was too steep to climb. But gradually, he began to train again. He went on a crash diet for several weeks, an eating plan that involved eating just one small steak a day.
The Canadian returned to competition in June, in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where he first beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, a member of the top 40. Then, he reached the second round at Wimbledon, in July, where he had made the final six years ago.
The National Bank Open in Toronto is likely to be the last opportunity to see the 6’5″ giant in action, as he will have a “big talk with himself” about where his career will go after the US Open.
Raonic seems ready to turn the page on the professional circuit. These two years of forced break confirmed to him that his life did not revolve only around tennis, this sport which he began to practice seriously a little late according to the standards (he was eight years old).
But he knew it long before that. The Canadian has many interests away from the little yellow ball, some of which he doesn’t want to talk about publicly, because he prefers to keep his private life… private.
One of those interests that the newlywed is willing to discuss, however, is his passion for art. “I like the fact that visiting art galleries does not exhaust me, had written the ace machine on the site The Players Tribune. On the contrary, it stimulates me.”
Andrey Rublev: The Tormented Champion
7th on the ATP
25 ans
Russia
AFP photo
Rublev doesn’t have the most electrifying style of play on the circuit, but there’s something about him that fetches those who like to take for dark heroes.
Because even if he has been one of the best players on the planet for a few seasons, the Russian has a little tormented side, as if he did not really understand what he was doing there, at the top of the world chessboard, alongside of these great champions.
This does not prevent him from being a player appreciated by his peers. On the contrary! Because Rublev is also very nice, with a little teasing side.
He’s not afraid to assert himself, either. As his country had just invaded Ukraine last year, the top 10 member made headlines for writing ‘no war please’ on the camera lens after winning their semi-final match to Dubai.
Christopher Eubanks: the unexpected rise
29th on the ATP
27 ans
UNITED STATES
Photo Getty Images via AFP
The American caused a stir at Wimbledon, reaching his first Grand Slam quarter-final after spending years languishing beyond No. 200 in the world.
His progress this season is incredible, especially for an athlete who thought about giving up everything during the pandemic. Here he is with a first ATP title (on the grass of Mallorca, a surface he hated until recently) and a new member of the top 30.
But beyond his power on the pitch, Eubanks is an affable and likeable player. It’s not for nothing that he also does analysis for The Tennis Channel, a role the Atlanta native intends to pursue despite his success on the court.
2023-07-31 23:40:05
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