Nadal, Djokovic crash out of Toronto Masters

TORONTO: The world’s top two players, Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbian Novak Djokovic, slumped to a shock loss in their Toronto Masters first round doubles match to a pair of wildcard Canadians. Nadal, the world number one, and Djokovic, the number two , were beaten 5-7, 6-3, 10-8 by the unheralded Canadian wildcards Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic.

Nadal and Djokovic, forming a doubles pair for the first time, were billed as a tennis ‘Dream Team’ but they ended up suffering a nightmare. It was the first time in over three decades that the top two players in the men’s world rankings had joined forces in doubles. It was 34 years ago, when Jimmy Connors was ranked first and Arthur Ashe second, that the top duo played together.

But the dream doubles team here did not produce the goods, the 20-year-old Pospisil and Raonic, 19, winning the final three games of the second set, immediately gained control in the match tie-break by rolling out to a 4-0 lead. They earned four match points at 9-5, and after seeing Djokovic and Nadal erase three of those opportunities, finally succeeded in closing out the win in one hour and 34 minutes.

Nadal and Djokovic will now turn their attention to the singles competition in Toronto as they step up their preparations for the US Open, the fourth and final grand slam of the year, at the end of August.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2010.