[photo from seetorontonow.cn]

Rogers Cup presented by National Bank is a prestigious professional tennis tournament organized by Tennis Canada. Since 1881 for the men and 1892 for the women, the best players in the world have showcased their skills on Canadian courts. Only Wimbledon and the US Open have longer histories than the major Canadian stop, which is acknowledged by the tennis world to be one of the best-run tournaments on the Tour. Classified as a Premier 5 event on the WTA schedule, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank offers more than US $2 million in prize money and attracts the biggest stars in women’s tennis year after year.

Montreal and Toronto share the task of hosting, in alternation, the best men’s and women’s players in the world. The two Canadian tournaments are “virtually combined” which means they are played at the same time, during the same week. So, from August 2-10, 2014 the women will be in Montreal while the men will play in Toronto.

Rafael Nadal is the defending champion, as last year in Montreal he began his incredible hard court season – which saw him also win Cincinnati and the US Open en route to regaining the world No. 1 ranking – by capturing his third Rogers Cup title. He defeated Milos Raonic in the final, in what was the Canadian’s first Masters 1000 championship match and the first time a Canadian played for the Rogers Cup title since 1958. In 2012, the last time the men visited Toronto, Novak Djokovic triumphed over Richard Gasquet to win his second consecutive and third overall Rogers Cup trophy.

The impressive list of past champions for this Canadian stop on the professional tennis circuit includes such legendary names as Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Raonic is the last Canadian to reach the final of the nation’s largest tennis tournament, while Robert Bedard is last Canadian to have lifted the men’s trophy, back in 1958.