Is Rafael Nadal Suddenly the 2013 US Open Favorite After Rogers Cup Title?

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at Internationaled.org

Published: August 12, 2013

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Eight years ago at the Rogers Cup Masters in Montreal, a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal won the first hard-court title of his career.

This weekend, on the same courts, Nadal took out No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and steamrolled hometown hero Milos Raonic in the final to win the eighth title of his year and the 58th title of his already legendary career.

He also extended his lead at No. 1 in the ATP Race, took back the No. 3 world ranking from David Ferrer and remained undefeated in 2013 on hard courts.



That’s right, the King of Clay has not lost a hard-court match all year, winning both hard-court events he’s played—Indian Wells and Montreal—and taking out Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro and Djokovic along the way.

Remember that cloud of uncertainty that hung over Nadal’s head after his shocking first-round loss at Wimbledon to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis? That front certainly cleared up quickly.

With all due respect to Andy Murray and Djokovic, the last two U.S. Open winners, right now Nadal looks like the guy to beat.

This week, the Spaniard came off a seven-week layoff and marched through Montreal like a guy who has been there before. Of course, that’s because he has. Nadal is at home at the Masters 1000 events—this was the fourth Masters win of the year and the 25th of his career.



After easily dismissing overmatched Jesse Levine in the second round, Nadal faced an extremely tricky third-round opponent in Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz. Nadal trailed in the first set, the first-set tiebreak and the second set, and still managed to win the match 7-6 (6), 6-4.

But it was the semifinals, in his 36th meeting against Djokovic, where he really made a statement. Though Nadal went in leading the head-to-head 20-15—including a win in their last epic encounter in the semifinals of this year's...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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