Rafael Nadal will focus only on the challenge in front of him as he defends his title at the Montreal Masters, where Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are conspicuous absentees.
“I cannot think if they are here or not,” the top-seeded Spaniard said on Sunday. “Anyway, tennis is more than just a few players.
“I need to prepare myself as well as possible and be ready to play.
“I would only face them in a semifinal or final anyway, so it’s not worth worrying about.”
With Djokovic and Federer putting a return to action on hold after their dramatic Wimbledon final, 33-year-old Nadal will be seeking to retain the title he earned last year in Toronto, when he beat rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
The Greek is back, taking the fourth seeding behind a pair of fellow young guns in No 2 Dominic Thiem of Austria and Germany’s Alexander Zverev, seeded third.
Nadal, who arrived in Canada after training in the summer heat of Mallorca in the wake of his Wimbledon semifinal loss to Federer, could find himself challenged early by another rising star – Australian Alex de Minaur.
De Minaur, who won his second ATP title in Atlanta in July, takes on a qualifier in the first round for a shot at Nadal, who will enjoy a first-round bye.
Second seed Thiem has purposefully left it late for the hard courts, preferring to stay as long as possible on European clay by entering both Hamburg and Kitzbuehel – where on Saturday he fulfilled a childhood dream of winning a tournament in his native Austria.
Now Thiem, beaten by Nadal in the last two Roland Garros finals, will try to carry that success to Canada.
“I’ve never won a match in Canada, I’d like to change that,” he said. “Canada is a big goal – I’m really hoping to get a win there.” –ATP
