Nadal and Halep win Rogers Cup titles

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Rafael Nadal ended the red-hot run of Greek upstart Stefanos Tsitsipas with a ruthless 6-2, 7-6 (4) win on Sunday that gave the Spanish top seed his fourth Rogers Cup championship title.

Earlier, world number one Simona Halep turned back American Sloane Stephens 7-6 (6), 3-6, 6-4 to win the Rogers Cup women’s title in a rematch of their French Open finale in Montreal.

Tsitsipas, who was contesting the Masters 1000 final on his 20th birthday after four consecutive wins over top-10 players in Toronto, threw all he had at Nadal but was ultimately unable to beat the world number one.

“If you told me this two weeks ago I would not have believed it,” Nadal said in his on-court interview. “It’s a great way to start the hardcourt season. Winning in Toronto is so important. You don’t win Masters 1000s very often. It’s a very important victory for me and I’m very happy.”

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece after their Men's Final match at the Rogers Cup on August 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

The win made the 32-year-old Spaniard, who also won the Rogers Cup in 2005, 2008 and 2013, the fourth player in the professional era to win 80 titles, joining a club that includes Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (98) and Ivan Lendl (94).

Halep beats Stephens in Montreal in repeat of French Open win

Romanian Halep, who had beaten Stephens in Paris in June, claimed her second Montreal title in three years and third for the 2018 season.

She closed out the hard-fought match with her third ace of the day.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be able to talk again at this ceremony as a winner,” Halep said.

Simona Halep of Romania holds the trophy during the post game ceremony after defeating Sloane Stephens in the final of Rogers Cup on August 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

Halep fended off four set points to claim a back-and-forth first set in a tiebreak after storming to a 4-1 lead before U.S. Open champion Stephens fought back to level.

Halep broke the third-seeded Stephens with a crosscourt winner to take a 5-4 lead and serve for the set. But the American broke Halep with a forehand winner and held two set points on the Romanian’s serve at 6-5.

Numerous forehand errors by Halep gave Stephens a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak and the American went up 6-4 before Halep rallied, crushing a backhand down the line to earn her first set point, which she converted.

Stephens led throughout the second set, breaking Halep twice, but the Romanian took control of the third set, turning a break into a 5-2 advantage.

Stephens rallied to within 5-4 before Halep, on her fourth match point, slammed her third ace of the match and dropped to her knees in triumph.

“You make me play better and better every time we play,” Halep said of Stephens.

“Obviously I’m sad I lost, but losing to the number one player isn’t too bad,” Stephens said.

Source(s): Reuters