The final showdown has been set for this year’s Rogers Cup. In Toronto Rafael Nadal will lock horns with Stefanos Tsitsipas in what will a battle of extremes. Nadal is seeking to become only the fourth player in history to win an 80th ATP Tour title in the Open Era. Meanwhile Greece’s Tsitsipas is seeking his first on his 20th birthday.
In Montreal, Simona Halep takes on Sloane Stephens in a battle of the grand slam champions. Halep, who defeated Stephens in the French Open final, is seeking her third tour title of the season and her second in the Rogers Cup after 2016. Meanwhile, US Open champion Stephens is bidding to become the first American winner since 2013.
Simona Halep vs. Sloane Stephens (Halep leads head-to-head 6-2)
This is a rematch from the French Open final two months ago, between the winners of two of the last four Majors. Much like that final in Paris, this one feels like it could easily go either way. Halep will certainly take confidence away from her victory over Stephens at Roland Garros. She also leads their head-to-head 6-2, and has won their last five meetings. But Sloane has appeared the stronger player this week, having yet to drop a set in Montreal. She also wasn’t as effected by the rain delays this week, which forced Halep to play over four hours of tennis on Thursday. Simona has bounced back from that nicely though, especially considering she’s been dealing with blisters on her feet. Stephens has the ability to outhit Halep and dictate play, as we saw during the first set-and-a-half at the French Open. Halep though has the ability to grind down Stephens and draw her into making some tired errors, as we saw in the second half of the Roland Garros final. This battle between two of the top three players in the world should be a high-quality affair with lots of extended rallies.
Rafael Nadal vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Nadal leads head-to-head 1-0)
What an amazing week for Stefanos Tsitsipas. He’s now defeated four top 10 players in a row: Thiem, Djokovic, Zverev, and Anderson. Much like Denis Shapovalov did last year at the Rogers Cup, this ATP Next Gen talent has put the tennis world on notice with his performance in Canada. The way in which he has come back day after day this week following such big wins, to outlast and outperform so many of the best players in the world, and win three consecutive three setters, has been marvelous. Such impressive composure from a 19-year-old, who now will play the biggest match of his career on the day on his 20th birthday. His only previous match against Nadal was in the final of Barcelona earlier this year, which Rafa won comfortably, dropping just three games. That tournament was also a breakout week in Tsitsipas’ young career, as he defeated three top 20 players to make his first ATP final at a 500-level event. Hopefully Tsitsipas has more left in the tank than he did for that final in Barcelona, though it’s hard to imagine he will following such a draining run of victories. You know Nadal will walk on court ready to compete at his top level, and will likely walk off the court with his record-extending 33rd Masters 1,000 title in tow.
