Winning breeds confidence and 12 months ago, one star was burning brightest of all. Daniil Medvedev, who had swapped sweets and croissants for a better diet to match his dedication and professionalism on the court, went on a tear.

After Nick Kyrgios narrowly beat him 7-6(8), 7-6(4) in the 2019 Citi Open final, the Russian travelled to Montreal, for arguably the pivotal moment of his career, when years of training and repetition came together — and ultimately propelled him on a path for the Top 5 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

His 2019 Coupe Rogers performances were all the more remarkable when you consider that Medvedev had had to qualify the year before to play in Toronto, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in the 2018 third round of the main draw. In the build-up to Montreal, one year on, Medvedev had reached three ATP Tour finals in 2019 and earned a career total of four Top 10 scalps, including back-to-back victories, a few months earlier, over No. 8-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No. 1 Novak Djokovic at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

Now, returning to Canadian soil, the 23-year-old was the eighth seed. And, throughout the week, he was not just beating, but dominating great players, having found his rhythm and the right tactics, forged in partnership with his coach Gilles Cervara. Medvedev did not lose more than three games per set in his first three matches in Montreal. He beat No. 4 Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-1 in the quarter-finals and earned a 6-1, 7-6(6) semi-final victory over fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, then ranked No. 8, took the player into unchartered territory.

While Rafael Nadal breezed past Medvedev 6-3, 6-0 in his first ATP Masters 1000 final, his education continued. And Medvedev has never looked back.

“It’s one of two best tournaments I’ve played in my life,” said Medvedev, of Montreal last year. “One was basically of course Tokyo, the only ATP 500 I won at this moment. Of course, to be in the final of a Masters 1000, I mean, it’s an amazing achievement for me at this moment… Of course, I always say this: if you don’t win the tournament, you are always disappointed. Even if you lose in a final of a Grand Slam, you will be disappointed.”

With a booming serve, one of the flattest backhands and most unorthodox games on the ATP Tour, Medvedev was not downcast. The following week, he kept putting the ball back, continued to frustrate opponents and subsequently captured the Western & Southern Open crown, overcoming Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, for the second time, in the semi-finals, and David Goffin 7-6(3), 6-4 for the biggest trophy of his career.

Immediately touted as a favourite for the US Open, Medvedev, who’d been the World No. 16 on 14 January, fell, narrowly, one step short in the final. Hours after an outstanding campaign had ended with a five-set loss to Nadal, Medvedev rose to a career-high No. 4 on 9 September. He was the first player to accrue 50 match wins on the 2019 season.

“Of course, deep inside of me, I understand that what I’ve done these four weeks is amazing, even comparing to what I’ve done before,” said Medvedev. “I don’t want to stop. I will always work to be better. I will try to do my best every day.”

Memories of Medvedev winning 20 out of 23 matches and reaching four straight finals on North American hard courts — only the third player to do so after Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi — remain vivid, ahead of the ATP Tour’s return this month.

While Medvedev would go onto lift two more trophies, the St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric) and the Rolex Shanghai Masters (d. Zverev), to extend his post-2019 Wimbledon streak to 29-3 and cement his place inside the Top 10, it was his week in Montreal that was pivotal in his rise to consistent, peak performance.

It turns out that even though Roger Federer is best with a tennis racquet, that’s not the only stick he is effective with.

The Swiss joined fellow ATP Tour players and NHL stars for a hockey exhibition in Toronto at the 2014 Rogers Cup. Some of the hockey stars in attendance were Phil Kessel and Jason Spezza. Federer was clutch under pressure, smacking the ball into the net as time expired.

“This is all about fun and it’s great fun doing this kind of stuff,” Federer said. “Getting hockey and tennis together on a centre court, which they built especially for this hockey promo, I think is great. I had a lot of fun meeting all the guys, they’re so relaxed. That I scored doesn’t matter one bit, but it was definitely a lot of fun.”

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Federer has collected NHL jerseys since he was a kid, saying he has “a nice collection”. But did he have potential on the ice?

“I can’t skate at all, actually. A little bit, but I can’t stop, so I have to go in circles,” Federer said. “I used to play a little bit of ‘Unihockey’, we call it in Europe. It’s with a plastic stick, [using a] plastic ball with holes inside. It’s much lighter. That’s what I did for warm-ups for tennis back in the day.”

The hockey stars paid their respects to Federer by wearing hats with his ‘RF’ logo, which the Swiss felt honoured by.

“I’ve always been a big hockey fan,” Federer said. “So for them to put on the ‘RF’ hat, of course I appreciate it.”

What are your favourite ATP Tour title moments?

ATPTour.com looks back at 10 memorable tournament victories from recent years, from the breakthrough of stars to all-time greats achieving unforgettable milestones.

10. Juan Martin Del Potro, 2018 BNP Paribas Open
Del Potro’s run at Indian Wells in 2018 proved the peak of his comeback from three left wrist surgeries. The Argentine saved three championship points before defeating Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2) for the title.

The ‘Tower of Tandil’ had lost his first three ATP Masters 1000 finals, but with his win over Federer he became the first Argentine to win the BNP Paribas Open in tournament history (since 1976) and the first South American titlist in Indian Wells since Marcelo Rios in 1998.

9. Dominic Thiem, 2019 BNP Paribas Open
Thiem had long ago proven his abilities at the highest levels on clay. But the Austrian sprung a surprise last year, claiming his first Masters 1000 title on the hard courts of Indian Wells.

For the second consecutive year, Federer suffered heartbreak in the BNP Paribas Open final. Thiem rallied from a set down to beat the Swiss star 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, denying Federer a record sixth Indian Wells crown.

8. Stefanos Tsitsipas, 2019 Nitto ATP Finals
When Tsitsipas won the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals, it was clear the Greek was a star of the future. But he proved he was ready to compete against the world’s best now when he triumphed at the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals.

Tsitsipas beat Federer in the semi-finals and Dominic Thiem in the final at The O2 to lift the biggest trophy of his career. At 21 years and three months, he became the youngest season finale champion since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt (20) at 2001 Sydney.

7. Fabio Fognini, 2019 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters
Fognini caused the upset of the tournament at 2019 Monte Carlo, defeating Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. He didn’t suffer a letdown in the final, becoming the first Italian to win an ATP Masters 1000 title by beating Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4. Fognini, the 13th seed, was the lowest seeded player to lift the trophy since fellow 13th seed Gustavo Kuerten in 1999.

6. Andy Murray, 2019 European Open
Murray was unsure if he’d ever play again after undergoing a second hip surgery following the 2019 Australian Open. Little did the former World No. 1 know that by the end of the year he’d be lifting an ATP Tour trophy again.

In only the sixth tour-level singles event of his comeback, Murray rallied past former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an emotional final to win his first title since 2017 Dubai.

5. Rafael Nadal, 2005 Internazionali BNL d’Italia
The legendary Spaniard has won 59 tour-level titles on clay, including 12 at Roland Garros. But before any of his victories in Paris, Nadal won a memorable final at the 2005 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in his first Rome appearance.

Nadal, then only 18, showed his trademark fighting spirit to rally from down 0-3 in the fifth set to defeat 2004 Roland Garros finalist Guillermo Coria 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) in a gut-wrenching five hours and 14 minutes for the trophy.

4. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 2014 Rogers Cup
It was four days of shock and awe in Toronto for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2014. The 29-year-old Frenchman beat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 9 Andy Murray, No. 8 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 3 Roger Federer in four consecutive days to win his second ATP Masters 1000 crown, and his first ATP Tour trophy in nearly 18 months.

3. David Nalbandian, 2007 Madrid
Nalbandian won his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2007 Mutua Madrid Open. How the Argentine baseliner did so is perhaps most impressive.

Nalbandian earned a 0.35 winning percentage (11-20) against the ‘Big Three’ of Novak Djokovic (1-4), Roger Federer (8-11) and Rafael Nadal (2-5) in his career. But at 2007 Madrid he became the first player to defeat them all in the same tournament, upsetting Federer 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 for the trophy.

2. Novak Djokovic, 2018 Western & Southern Open
For five years, Djokovic needed only one more title to become the first player to complete the Career Golden Masters, lifting all nine ATP Masters 1000 trophies. But the Serbian could not get over the finish line at the Western & Southern Open.

That was until 2018, when Djokovic refused to be denied. Federer had beaten him in three previous Cincinnati finals, finishing each match in straight sets. But Djokovic wouldn’t let Federer spoil his efforts a fourth time, defeating the Swiss 6-4, 6-4 for a memorable victory.

1. Roger Federer, 2019 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
Federer claimed his 99th tour-level title at 2018 Basel in front of his home fans. There wasn’t a long wait for him to hit the century mark.

After dropping a set in his first two matches of the 2019 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Federer rounded into form, storming through the rest of the draw to become the second player to win 100 tour-level titles, joining former World No. 1 Jimmy Connors (109). The Swiss had lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the year at the Australian Open, but he got his revenge with a 6-4, 6-4 victory to reach the historic milestone.

The abiding memory is of a charismatic pair, at opposite ends of their career spectrum, coming together for an instant classic. Rafael Nadal, already a winner of eight trophies in 2005, full of power and creativity, and Andre Agassi, the three-time former champion, who stood firm on the baseline to strike half volleys and execute his own offensive assault. Nadal first hard-court triumph, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, in the Montreal final, reaffirmed a changing of the guard and set the tone for future success on Canadian soil.

In slower conditions in Toronto, three years on, Nadal extended his winning streak to 29 matches, by overwhelming Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 in the 2008 final to become the third youngest player — behind Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors — to accumulate 30 tour-level titles. A second trophy in Montreal came in 2013, when he beat Milos Raonic, the first Canadian finalist since 1959, following on from a pulsating 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic — Nadal’s first hard-court triumph over the Serbian in three years.

And over the past couple of years, Nadal has further extended his dominance with consecutive crowns to move to within one Canadian trophy of Ivan Lendl, a winner of six titles (1980-81, 1983, 1987-89) from nine finals.

The Spanish superstar wrestled his way past Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic in 2018, before straight sets wins over Karen Khachanov and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Twelve months later, and now aged 33, Nadal was forced to recover from a set down against Fabio Fognini in the quarter-finals, before producing a dominant final performance to defeat Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-0, helping him to a record 35th ATP Masters 1000 trophy. It was also the first time that Nadal had retained a non clay-court title.

“With the knowledge of tennis I have today and the chance to have the legs I had in 2005, I’d probably be a very, very good player,” said Nadal, in Montreal, last year. “I lost things along the road, so I just tried to add other things to keep being competitive during all these years. One of the most important things for me personally and one of the things that I’m most satisfied with is that I have always been able to find a solution to stay competitive at the highest level after a lot of problems, a lot of issues. My personality hasn’t changed that much. But, of course, I’m almost 15 years older.”

With a 38-8 record, including a perfect 5-0 mark in finals, across 13 appearances — eight visits to Montreal and five visits in Toronto — Nadal is clearly at home on Canadian soil.

Novak Djokovic will be doing double duty at the Western & Southern Open. Djokovic and partner Filip Krajinovic are among the initial entries into the ATP Masters 1000 event’s doubles draw, as announced by the tournament Tuesday.  

The Serbians have competed together four times, tallying a 3-4 record. At last year’s Rolex Shanghai Masters, they upset 2019 Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.

Defending champions Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek will try to retain their title, with 2019 year-end No. 1 team Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah and Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo, who have competed in the Nitto ATP Finals together three times, also chasing the trophy.

Other notable teams set to play at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where the tournament is being held due to COVID-19, are reigning Australian Open champions Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury, Karen Khachanov/Andrey Rublev and Rohan Bopanna/Denis Shapovalov. Nicolas Mahut and Jan-Lennard Struff, who have been across the net from each other in two ATP Tour doubles finals, will team up for the first time.

Six teams will join the field through on-site entries, while the tournament will award three wild cards to complete the 32-team draw. 

As players return to the court for the restart of the ATP Challenger Tour, one thing is certain: there will be no shortage of star power on display.

Stan Wawrinka will kick off his return to action at the upcoming Prague Challengers, the Czech Tennis Association announced. The World No. 17 is poised to resume his 2020 campaign next week, competing in back-to-back Challenger 125 events in the Czech capital.

“It’s a privilege to be back on court doing what we love,” Wawrinka said. “I’m looking forward to returning to beautiful Prague after many years.”

Set to commence on 17 August, the ATP Challenger Tour tournaments in Prague and Todi, Italy mark the resumption of men’s professional tennis after a five-month stoppage due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After such a lengthy hiatus, Wawrinka knows that rediscovering his match rhythm is the first priority.

The Swiss recently joined Dani Vallverdu for two practice weeks in Monaco and is currently training in Switzerland with coach Magnus Norman. With such a strong field accompanying him in Prague, including 21 players in the Top 150 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, the Challenger event provides an ideal opening test.

“I’ve been working hard and practising well during the last few weeks. Now I can’t wait to be back in competition and to play matches again.”

The former World No. 3 posted an 8-3 record in January and February, prior to the tour’s suspension. A semi-finalist to open the year in Doha, he also reached the quarters at both the Australian Open and the ATP 500 event in Acapulco.

Recent Top 40 Players To Enter A Challenger

This will be Wawrinka’s first Challenger event in more than a decade, since he lifted the trophy on home soil in Lugano, Switzerland in 2010. He owns six titles on the circuit in total.

“It’s a real honour to see a triple Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka play at our tournament,” said Prague tournament director and club manager Vladislav Savrda. “In the very long history of the oldest club in Czech Republic, we’ve had many top players come here in the past. It’s always an honour. I am confident that the first ATP Challenger after six months will run very smoothly.”

Wawrinka will compete alongside #NextGenATP star Emil Ruusuvuori, former World No. 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber, top Czech Jiri Vesely and 2020 Challenger wins leader Arthur Rinderknech at the I. Cesky Lawn Tennis Klub. One of the oldest venues on the ATP Challenger Tour (founded in 1893), the 127-year-old facility is located on Stvanice Island in Prague’s city centre. It will host the 23rd edition of the I.CLTK Prague Open by Moneta.

During the third set of the 2007 Coupe Rogers final between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, a fan in the Montreal crowd shouted that it was “Roger’s Cup”, urging the Swiss star on.

“Nothing against the sponsor,” Djokovic said. “But obviously I’m going to have to arrange somebody to call [it the] Novak’s Cup for next year.”

That’s because the Serbian beat Federer 7-6(2), 2-6, 7-6(2) to complete a memorable run in Canada, lifting his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy.

“I can’t describe the feeling I have right now. It’s like a dream come true, especially against Federer in the finals, to win those tie-breaks was just incredible,” Djokovic said. “I managed to win these tie-breaks against a player who probably has the best score in tie-breaks, who is the strongest player mentally in the world right now.”

Djokovic was just one week removed from a surprising second-round defeat on Umag’s clay against good friend and World No. 176 Viktor Troicki. But the World No. 4 found his form, beating World No. 3 Andy Roddick and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, without losing a set.

With his upset of Federer, Djokovic became the first player to beat the world’s top three players in the same tournament since Boris Becker defeated No. 3 Michael Stich, No. 1 Pete Sampras and No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic at the 1994 Stockholm Open.

The 20-year-old saved six set points in the first set against the Swiss, showing no fear despite losing their first four ATP Head2Head meetings. Defending champion Federer battled back to force a decider, though, making the Serbian work hard for the victory.

Djokovic took the fight to the top seed in the third set, breaking in the first game with aggressive play, especially on the forehand side. While Federer used his greater experience to hang in the match and get back on serve, the Serbian was determined to seize his opportunity. Djokovic completed his victory with a volley lob, which Federer couldn’t track down in time, ending the championship match after two hours and 12 minutes.

“This first set was really crucial I can say,” said Djokovic. “The first set was really important. I saved a couple of set points and I had 40/0 at 5-5 on my serve but I lost it and then after that I really fought for every point and I managed to win that first set.

“To win two tie-breaks against the World No. 1, probably the strongest player mentally on the Tour, it’s another achievement. It’s another success so I’m really, really happy.”

At the time, Federer was already well-established as the No. 1 player in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Djokovic, however, had only won his first ATP Tour title 13 months earlier.

“It’s still a long way to the first place of the world for me,” Djokovic said. “I can’t exactly say that I’m thinking about becoming No. 1 next year, in two years. That’s my lifetime goal, to be the No. 1 player of the world. But I have a lot of time.”

Djokovic has accomplished that goal, spending 282 weeks atop the FedEx ATP Rankings. Only Federer (310) and Pete Sampras (286) have held the top spot longer. The Serbian has also come a long way since that first victory against Federer, currently leading their ATP Head2Head series 27-23.

Three Top 10 stars — defending champion Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini — headline a stellar entry list for the 2020 Generali Open, which is scheduled to take place in Kitzbühel between 8-13 September.

Thiem, who ended the home crowd’s 26-year wait for a first Austrian champion since 1993 winner Thomas Muster in 2019, is among 10 players in the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings on the entry list.

Fabio Fognini, Roberto Bautista Agut, Diego Schwartzman, Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov, Cristian Garin and Felix Auger-Aliassime are also set to play at the ATP 250 level tournament, to be held during the second week of the US Open (31 August-13 September). The entry cut-off for Kitzbühel is at No. 31 (Kei Nishikori).

To be eligible to compete in the 28-player Kitzbühel singles main draw, Top 10 players (as of 3 August 2020) must have competed and lost at the US Open — singles or doubles — by the start of the qualifying competition or by 7 September, whichever is earlier. All other players who are still playing at the Grand Slam championship will be withdrawn at this deadline. The doubles field will include 16 teams.

The ATP Tour is set to resume on 20 August with the Western & Southern Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has moved from Cincinnati to the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Kitzbühel Main Draw Singles Entry List
No. 3 Dominic Thiem (AUT)
No. 7 Alexander Zverev (GER)
No. 8 Matteo Berrettini (ITA)
No. 11 Fabio Fognini (ITA)
No. 12 Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
No. 13 Diego Schwartzman (ARG)
No. 14 Andrey Rublev (RUS)
No. 16 Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
No. 18 Cristian Garin (CHI)
No. 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
No. 23 Dusan Lajovic (SRB)
No. 24 Taylor Fritz (USA)
No. 25 Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)
No. 26 Alex de Minaur (AUS)
No. 27 Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO)
No. 29 Hubert Hurkacz (POL)
No. 31 Kei Nishikori (JPN)