Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will both miss this year’s Canadian Open.
The world number one and the world number three won’t travel to Montreal, and neither will the 24-time Grand Slam champion, Novak Djokovic.
Jannik Sinner forfeits his chance at Masters 1000 history… What do you make of this decision? 😬
This isn’t the first time the biggest names in men’s tennis have skipped the Canadian Open, as it’s now been 16 years since every player ranked in the top five made the trip to the ‘Great White North’.
So, what better time than now to look back at what happened when the stars took to the courts in Toronto for the 2010 Canadian Open.
How Andy Murray won the star-studded 2010 Canadian Open
The world’s top five players were all fit and ready to compete in Canada 16 years ago.
Top-five players at the 2010 Canadian Open
- 1. Rafael Nadal
- 2. Novak Djokovic
- 3. Roger Federer
- 4. Andy Murray
- 5. Robin Soderling
Great Britain’s Andy Murray entered the event as the defending champion, although few expected him to defend his crown, as he hadn’t won a tour-level title in 2010.
Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, and Roger Federer were the more obvious title favourites, although several younger prospects, including the world number five, Robin Soderling, were fancied to make deep runs.
However, it was the Swede, Soderling, who was the first top-five player to fall, losing to the former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian in the third round.
Securing the upset win, Nalbandian joined the ‘big four’ in the quarter-finals.
2010 Canadian Open quarter-finals
- [1] Rafael Nadal vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
- [4] Andy Murray vs David Nalbandian
- [7] Tomas Berdych vs Roger Federer
- Jeremy Chardy vs [2] Novak Djokovic
Murray soon put an end to the Argentine’s run, though, defeating him 6-2, 6-2, in the quarter-finals.
Nadal beat Philipp Kohlschreiber, Federer beat Tomas Berdych, and Djokovic beat Jeremy Chardy to complete the semi-final line-up.
For the first time in tournament history, the top four seeds all made it through to the last four.
There hadn’t been many surprises to that point until the third and fourth seeds, Federer and Murray, upset [2] Djokovic and [1] Nadal to reach the final.
Murray had a golden opportunity to defend his title, while Federer searched for his third win in Canada.
It was Murray who emerged victorious, becoming the first back-to-back Canadian Open champion since Andre Agassi in 1995.
He was pleased with the win, sharing his thoughts during his post-match press conference.
“I don’t know how many times I’ve lost to him [Roger Federer] in finals,” said Murray.
“I think three, maybe?
“But, no, I mean, winning a tournament is always great, but it’s the first time I, you know, I beat Roger [Federer] and Rafa [Nadal] in the same tournament, which is probably the most pleasing thing, and then didn’t drop a set against either of them.
“So it’s good for the confidence for the next few weeks.”
Why do the top players skip the Canadian Open?
Since 2010, at least one top-five player has missed the Canadian Open each year.
Why? Well, the schedule has a lot to do with it.
The Canadian Open is the first ‘big’ event after Wimbledon, which itself comes quite shortly after the French Open.
Top players who make deep runs in Paris and London often feel there is too tight a turnaround between Wimbledon and the Canadian Open.
Therefore, many take the unpopular decision to skip the event in favour of making their return in Cincinnati before the US Open.
Some players, like Djokovic, have all but given up on the Canadian Open.
After winning his fourth title in 2016, Djokovic missed the event in 2017, lost in the third round in 2018, and hasn’t returned since.
And the ‘newer’ stars, like Alcaraz, have made similar decisions.
The Spaniard played the Canadian Open in 2022 and 2023, but after this year will have missed the last three tournaments.
Unfortunately for the tournament organisers and the Canadian fans, there isn’t much more they can do to attract the top stars.
After Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic all missed the event last year, the Canadian Open start date was pushed back by a week, giving players more time to rest after Wimbledon, but that didn’t make a difference.
Most players dislike the two-week Masters 1000 format, and, in the case of the Canadian Open, perhaps a change back to a one-week event might be the only way to get the best players to compete.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the tournament, but surely something has to change.
Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Alex de Minaur will be the top three seeds at this year’s Canadian Open, which begins on Sunday, August 2.
