The Rogers Cup in Montreal drew the "largest crowd ever for a one-week tournament on the ATP Tour," according to Pat Hickey of the MONTREAL GAZETTE. The week-long event drew 216,097 fans, passing the previous Montreal Rogers Cup-record of 213,760 in '11. Organizers "expected good crowds this year with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the house," but 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov's run to the semifinals and "good weather" helped. Tournament Dir Eugene Lapierre said, "There was a tennis craze in our city the last few weeks and it showed in our attendance" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 8/14). TENNIS.com's Kamakshi Tandon wrote Shapovalov "became a huge sensation with the run he had at his national event," which included defeating Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro. Shapovalov said, "I go from being not known to, you know, being so known in the tennis world, in Canada in general. It's going to be a little bit of a change to me. I'm going to have to adapt." Tandon noted Shapovalov is the "youngest-ever player to reach the semifinals" of a Masters-level tennis tournament (TENNIS.com, 8/13). In N.Y., Salim Valji wrote Shapovalov "proved capable of handling himself on the big stage" and "became a new household name for tennis fans and Canadians on Thursday night" after defeating Nadal (N.Y. TIMES, 8/12). In Canada, Douglas Gelevan wrote "nobody saw a run like this coming." What Shapovalov accomplished in Montreal as a wild card entry "cannot be overstated" (CBC.ca, 8/12).
