TORONTO, June 27, 2018 (Press Release)
Former world No.1 Andy Murray will receive a wild card into the 2018 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank, Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday. The three-time Rogers Cup champion, who made his return to competitive tennis after 11 months out with a hip injury at the Fever-Tree Championships in London last week, will return to Toronto for the first time since 2014.
“I am really looking forward to being back in Toronto this summer,” said three-time Grand Slam champion Murray. “The last time I played Rogers Cup was when I won the Montreal title in 2015. After almost a year out with injury, it’s a great feeling to be back competing and I’m grateful to the tournament for this opportunity.”
Murray will join 11-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal and 20-time Grand Slam champion and 2017 Rogers Cup finalist Roger Federer in a Toronto player field that contains all of the top 44 players in the world. Defending champion Alexander Zverev and French Open finalist Dominic Thiem are other notable names on the entry list for the US Open Series event that takes place August 4-12, while Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic lead Canadian hopes.
“We are looking forward to an incredible summer of men’s tennis in Toronto,” said Karl Hale, Rogers Cup Toronto tournament director. “Federer and Nadal have been locked in a battle for number one all year so it will be exciting to see how that plays out at Rogers Cup. With Djokovic coming back from injury, Zverev and Thiem playing some of the best tennis of their careers and Denis and Milos waving the Canadian flag, men’s tennis is more competitive than ever. We have revamped our player areas and have many exciting off-court festivities lined up so we can’t wait to welcome the tennis world to Toronto.”
In 2017, at age 20, Zverev became the youngest Rogers Cup champion since Novak Djokovic in 2007, shaking up the “big four” dominance of Nadal (2005, 2008, 2013), Djokovic (2007, 2011, 2012, 2016), Federer (2004, 2006) and Andy Murray (2009, 2010, 2015) in Canada. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in 2014, is the only other player outside that quartet to have lifted the trophy since 2003.
Both Shapovalov (No.26) and former Rogers Cup finalist Raonic (No.32) earn direct entry into the tournament. Shapovalov reached the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Madrid and subsequently attained a career-high ranking of No.23. After his dream run to the last four in Montreal last year, and Raonic’s recent resurgence to reach the final in Stuttgart, both will be strong contenders in their home city this summer.
Next Gen stars such as Borna Coric (defeated Federer in the Halle final last week), Australian Nick Kyrgios and Korean sensation Hyeon Chung (Australian Open semi-finalist) will assure Toronto fans the opportunity to get up close with the future stars of the game.
Click here to view the complete entry list. The 56-player fields for both tournaments will be completed at a later date with the addition of the remaining wild cards and qualifiers.
