In one day, the National Bank Open lost its first three seeds in their inaugural game on Wednesday.
• Read also: National Bank Open: Alcaraz crumbling under pressure
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Beaten in the second round, after earning a bye for the opening round, Daniil Medvedev (1), Carlos Alcaraz (2) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) all met an untimely end on center court at the expense of Nick -Kyrgios , Tommy Paul and Jack Draper respectively.
It’s the first time the top three favorites in a Masters 1000 tournament have been knocked out since the competition in Indian Wells, Calif., nearly 23 years ago.
Rublev too
As recalled by Greg Sharko, ATP communications manager Pete Sampras, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Alex Corretja suffered the same fate against, in order, Felix Mantilla, Gustavo Kuerten and Mark Philippoussis in 1999.
We should also add that the fifth seed in Montreal, Andrey Rublev, also bowed out on Wednesday when he was defeated by Daniel Evans.
Photo Joël Lemay
Daniil Medvedev
Never in Montreal
The National Bank Open has never experienced such a situation according to its director, Eugène Lapierre, who commented on this rare situation.
“People definitely want to see the favourites,” he said in an interview with the Journalbut we are not mistaken in saying that Nick Kyrgios [qui n’était pas classé parmi les 16 favoris] attracts more than the best players in the world.
“I, as an organizer, want the headliners to go as far as possible, but, honestly, if I was a spectator, I would like to see -Kyrgios. It’s a big attraction, like Felix [Auger-Aliassime] obviously.
“What disappointed me the most was the rapid elimination of Carlos Alcaraz,” added Lapierre. He arrives in Montreal for the first time and the public wants to discover him. We have not seen it to its full extent. »
But hey, at only 19 and already ranked fourth in the world, we will see him again every two years for a long time.
Photo Martin Chevalier
Carlos Alcaraz
It’s the fault of the… double
Many people wonder how the schedule of games is determined each day at the National Bank Open.
The answer is very simple: it all depends on the duplication of the participants.
“The problem, explains Lapierre, are these players who are not only engaged in singles, but also in doubles.
“There is a convention in tennis where you have to play your singles match before you play doubles. »
We see that in the portion of the table where Auger-Aliassime is, a good number of players also compete in doubles, including Cameron Norrie, who faced the Quebecer on Thursday.
“It’s a safe bet that all the players in this portion of the roster will be playing their singles match during the day, probably until Saturday, but nothing prevents 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 emotions on Wednesday night when he witnessed Auger-Aliassime’s first victory.
“It was great to see this atmosphere,” said the boss. I was very scared of this game. I saw Quebecers and Canadians under pressure to play at home. Felix is a human being and he, too, had to bear this pressure.
“But we saw that he was able to respond, which he did in a good way, he continued. The first set was tight. We all knew that his adversary [le Japonais Yoshihito Nishioka] could cause problems, as he demonstrated recently by beating good players like Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov.
“Felix had to be able to manhandle him in power. It was good to see him come out of a first set [qu’il a remporté au bris d’égalité] complicated before he shifted into high gear in the second run. It was there that I realized that he was in full possession of his faculties. »
