Top-ranked Rafael Nadal will be working to increase grip atop the rankings at the ATP Toronto Masters, an event which lost an exhausted Andy Murray prior to Monday\u2019s start.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s Murray, winner of three matches in four days this week in Washington, withdrew from Washington and Canada on Friday after finishing his latest victory after 3 a.m., breaking down in tears after the match.<\/p>\n
But the cumulative effort was too much for the 31-year-old Scotsman, who underwent right hip surgery in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m exhausted after playing so much over the past four days, having not competed on the hard courts for 18 months,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also need to be careful and to listen to my body as I come back from a long-term injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
The former number one, now ranked 832, was playing the third event in his slow-running comeback after first returning in June on grass in Britain before withdrawing from Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
World number two Roger Federer is skipping Canada and will return on August 13 in Cincinnati, where Murray is also expected.<\/p>\n
Federer, limiting his schedule to extend his longevity, turns 37 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Nadal will be making his first appearance on court since a five-set Wimbledon semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic.<\/p>\n
With most of the rankings top 10 in Canada, Nadal\u2019s path to a potential fourth title in the country after 2005, 2008 and 2013 will be a predictable challenge.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard resumed training recently on his home island of Mallorca after spending off-time sailing.<\/p>\n
Nadal opens play on Wednesday against either American Jared Donaldson or Frenchman Benoit Paire, fined $16,500 this week for a racquet-smashing outburst in Washington.<\/p>\n
The 17-time Grand Slam champion isn\u2019t looking ahead at other potential foes such as Swiss three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka or Australian Nick Kyrgios.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot think about Wawrinka, Kyrgios, Joao (Sousa) before playing Benoit or a qualifier,\u201d Nadal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the first round is going to be a tough battle. But the full draw doesn\u2019t distract me from being focused on that first round.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI always take it match by match. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve done all my life. That\u2019s the only way, in my opinion, to have success.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to respect all opponents. In tennis, things change so quickly, so you need to be ready to accept both victories and losses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Second seed Alexander Zverev will defend his crown after beating a tiring Federer in the 2017 title match at the event, which alternates annually between Toronto and Montreal.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old German has shown he has the game to challenge the elite, winning Masters 1000 trophies in Rome, Montreal and Madrid.<\/p>\n
But his weakness so far has been the Grand Slams, where the NextGen talent can boast just one quarter-final from Roland Garros last spring.<\/p>\n
With his big-match format suspect, durability has also been a recent problem for Zverev.<\/p>\n
He lost at Roland Garros in his third successive five-set match as he played Ernests Gulbis and was tested in a pair of three-setters in Washington.<\/p>\n
Zverev will come to Canada having had little chance to rest and regroup, starting with either Spain\u2019s David Ferrer or a qualifier.<\/p>\n
Third seed Juan Matin del Potro will be hoping to make up for a second-round loss a year ago, taking on either Japan\u2019s Kei Nishikori or Dutchman Robin Haase.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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