Montreal Masters: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and the intersection of time

 

For the first time in over six years – since the 2011 Monte Carlo Masters – Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will be the two top-seeds (in that order) at the 2017 Rogers Cup, in Montreal. A lot has had changed in these half-a-dozen years. Players have since retired and there has been the cascade of two back-to-back generational shifts. And yet, with Nadal and Federer still going strong, it does seem as though a few things have remained the same.

But, have they really?

Novak Djokovic’s decision to shut shop for the rest of the 2017 season, followed days later by Andy Murray opting out of the Montreal Masters meant that the entire existence of the Big Four was once again in disarray. Nadal and Federer then taking over as the top-seeds was a bracing continuity. Not only in terms of retaining the core significance of the nomenclature, but also in terms of extending the theme of their dual domination for the season up to now.

Of the five ATP Masters tournaments that have been played this year, Nadal and Federer have split success in two of the four Masters tourneys. The Swiss pocketed the Indian Wells-Miami double for the third time in his career, while the Spaniard rampaged on the dirt of Monte Carlo and Madrid. These triumphs, in turn, also spoke about the way they had seemingly turned back time to the days when men’s tennis was mostly bracketed around them.

Inspiring these results have then been about the clout these two have continued to wield over the game. But, the outcome of the last ATP Masters event, in Rome, is just as relevant in this context. And, this relevance comes by way of the aberration that the Rome Masters has been in the otherwise predictable nature of the season’s tennis calendar.

For one, it was the only event where Nadal’s impeccable shacklehold of his most preferred surface slackened. Secondly, it was the only tournament where a youngster convincingly prevailed over the more experienced and the (slightly) favoured contender in Djokovic.

Dominic Thiem’s upset over Nadal in straight sets in the Rome Masters’ quarter-final meant that regardless of his show of dominance on the surface, the days of the Mallorcan running through the clay season undefeated were bygone. This, coupled with Alexander Zverev’s one-sided win over Djokovic in the final, lent credence to the fact that despite their frequent on-court patchiness, the youngsters had the potential to push their game through in the bigger tournaments.

It’s therefore not surprising to see Thiem and Zverev take their place as the third and fourth seeds in Montreal this week. Much like Nadal and Federer, they, too, have benefited from the spate of withdrawals that have preceded the event. Thiem and Zverev’s presence right on their heels is also indicative. That not only has time flitted away, but it has also brought men’s tennis to a unique crossroads. Where in the reunion with the past, there’s also an equally enforcing reconnecting with its foreseeable future.