Sports

Montreal — Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova rolled into the final of the WTA hardcourt tournament in Montreal on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over top seed Aryna Sabalenka.

The win was a repeat for the fourth-seeded Czech, who defeated her Belarus rival in three sets two months ago in their All England Club semifinal.

Pliskova will fight for the Montreal title against Italy’s Camila Giorgi, who needed a deciding set to see off Australian Open quarter-finalist Jessica Pegula 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Pliskova lost to Giorgi last month in the third round of the Tokyo Olympics.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be in another final,” Pliskova said. “I was super-solid today

“I did what I needed to win. I used my brain and played smart. She was missing a bit too much, I’m quite happy with the performance.” 

Pliskova broke Sabalenka four times and saved two of the three break points she faced.

Sabalenka, who flung her racquet in disgust in the second set, apologised for any unprofessional behaviour later on Instagram.

Pliskova fired 10 aces for a total of 267 this season, putting her within touching distance of Sabalenka’s tour-leading 270.

The Czech won her 39th match of the season, top of the table on the WTA. But even though she has won 12 of her past 13 matches, she’s seeking her first title of the season.

Giorgi has been on a roll in recent weeks, winning her 15th WTA match from 19 played as she moved into the first 1000-level final of her career.

“Reaching this final means a lot,” Giorgi said. “I’m having a great week, all my matches have been tough.

“I knew I was playing very well,” she said. “Even losing the first set, I never felt the match was in danger as I knew I was playing very well. 

“The first set went very well. Losing the second... it can happen in tennis. In the third I came back even more focused.

“The final will be another great match, as usual I will just focus on my game.”

The 71st-ranked Italian threatened to emerge a straight-set winner as she came from 4-1 down in the second, but Pegula fought off the attack to take it into a third before exiting. 

Pliskova is determined to get past Giorgi in the title match after her loss in Tokyo.

“Of course I lost to her already this year, everybody knows that. 

“But this is a final, it’s a different kind of match than a first or second round.

“I have nothing to lose. I’m playing quite solid this week. I’ll just try to do my best and let’s see.

“Maybe I’ll be third time lucky in finals this season,” added the Czech, who fell in the finals at Wimbledon and Rome.

LONDON — Liverpool will fight “for everything” this season but manager Jurgen Klopp expects it to be a really tough battle between several clubs as his side bids to regain the Premier League title that Manchester City reclaimed last term.

Whilst new signings, unlike their main rivals, have been kept to a minimum — France under-21 defender Ibrahima Konate was announced back in May from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig — Liverpool have focussed on getting key players to sign new contracts.

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander Arnold, Fabinho and notably, on Friday, Virgil van Dijk all agreed to new deals.

Klopp says they will all be essential to Liverpool’s title challenge and rediscovering the panache that saw them crowned champions in 2020 for the first time in three decades. 

“Last year, the gap was pretty big [City had a 12-point advantage over second-placed Manchester United and 17 over Liverpool],” said Klopp at Friday’s press conference ahead of their opening Premier League match away on Saturday to newly-promoted Norwich.

“The previous season, the gap between us was pretty big [Liverpool finished 18 points clear of City].

“I’m not sure if it can get any more intense for all the rest.

“We will see. Chelsea aren’t hiding their ambitions, Man United aren’t, City aren’t.

“We don’t want to hide our ambitions, we want to fight for everything.”

Klopp, though, says it is not only the top four sides in the league last season who will aspire to being viable title candidates.

“I mention only these four, but it will not be only these four,” he said.

“Leicester made really good business again.

“Arsenal are trying, Tottenham are trying.

“There are so many teams. West Ham played their best season for a long, long time last year — they didn’t get worse over the summer.

“It will be an interesting league again.”

‘A sensational feeling’ 

Klopp is adamant the manner in which Liverpool battled successfully at the end of last season in securing their Champions League spot will serve them well in terms of the spirit it engendered amongst the squad.

“The last few games we knew it was in our hands and we came through it,” he said.

“For us, the third place last year was not far off the other positions in the two years before to be honest and was really special with the problems we had.

“We found a way how to win football games and that’s a really important message.

“It was obviously a sensational feeling and that will help us because it’s another feeling we experienced together”.

Klopp said he is not surprised by Manchester City’s spending — they paid £100 million ($130 million) for England midfielder Jack Grealish and are believed to be ready to outdo that sum for Spurs’s England captain Harry Kane — but he is by Manchester United’s.

United have spent over £100 million on Jadon Sancho and Real Madrid’s French international defender Raphael Varane — the latter is undergoing a medical — with a central midfielder still on their menu.

“I’m not surprised [that other teams have spent big], because these clubs don’t depend on this kind of thing [the impact of the coronavirus pandemic], I think,” said Klopp.

“We all know the situations at Chelsea, City, PSG [Paris Saint Germain]. What’s happening at United, I don’t know — I don’t know how they do it.

“We have our way and it’s always been the same since I joined.

“We can spend, we’re allowed to spend the money we earn — that’s what we always did.”

BELFAST — Kepa Arrizabalaga was the unlikely hero as Chelsea started the new season as they ended the last with a European trophy by beating Villarreal 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the UEFA Super Cup in Belfast.

The Spaniard, who has lost his place as number one since joining the club for a world record fee for a goalkeeper in 2018, was introduced late in extra-time as a substitute for the shootout by Thomas Tuchel.

Kepa famously refused to be replaced by former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri in a League Cup final defeat to Manchester City two years ago.

But this time he rewarded his manager's faith with saves from Aissa Mandi and Raul Albiol.

"It was not spontaneous," said Tuchel who explained the plan had been hatched in the FA Cup last season. 

"We talked about it with the goalkeepers after the first cup game against Barnsley.

"Kepa has the best percentage at saving penalties, the analysing guys and goalkeeping coaches showed me the data. We spoke to the players that this could happen when we play in knockout games. It's fantastic how Edouard [Mendy] accepted it.

"There is proof that Kepa is better in this discipline. They're team players. Edouard does not show the pride to not step off the field. He was happy to do it for the team and take this for the team."

Chelsea's win over Manchester City in Porto to lift the Champions League for a second time in May was the culmination of a meteoric rise in Tuchel's first five months in charge.

The German has bemoaned having to manage a 42-man squad during pre-season and could soon have even more firepower to call on with Romelu Lukaku expected to complete a return to Stamford Bridge later this week for a club record £97 million ($135 million).

But the depth of resources available to Tuchel was on show early on.

Euro 2020 finalists Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Jorginho all had to settle for a place on the bench after their late return to pre-season training, but Chelsea still had far too much for the Europa League winners in the opening half hour.

Bittersweet for Ziyech

Hakim Ziyech had a bittersweet evening as he continued his fine pre-season form into competitive action with the opening goal.

Marcos Alonso fed Kai Havertz down the right and from the German's low cross, Ziyech swept home.

However, the Moroccan was forced off before half-time in a sling by a shoulder injury.

In stark contrast to Chelsea's haul of now 20 trophies in the nearly 20 years since Roman Abramovich's takeover transformed the club, Villarreal's Europa League final victory over Manchester United in May secured their first ever silverware.

After an overly cautious start from Unai Emery's men, going behind forced the Yellow Submarine out of their shell and they were unfortunate not to be level by half-time.

"I am proud to represent Villarreal, our project and the Spanish league," said Emery. "We knew how to compete."

Mendy scampered from his line to deny Boulaye Dia a debut goal before Villarreal twice hit the woodwork either side of the break through Alberto Moreno and Gerard Moreno.

Villarreal were the dominant force in the second-half as Chelsea physically faded after their flying start.

Tuchel turned to his bench to stem the tide as Mount, Jorginho and Andreas Christensen were introduced.

But the Spaniards finally got their deserved equaliser when Moreno played a clever one-two with Dia before firing high past Mendy.

Neither manager would have welcomed an extra 30 minutes just days before their respective league campaigns kick-off.

Chelsea had the better of extra-time as Christian Pulisic fired inches wide before Sergio Asenjo produced a fine save to deny Mount.

Asenjo also gave Villarreal a dream start to the shootout by saving from Havertz.

But Chelsea were flawless with their next six spot-kicks to allow Kepa to take centre stage.

PARIS — Lionel Messi has set his sights on more Champions League glory after being unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Wednesday as hundreds of fans gathered outside the club’s stadium hoping to see their new idol.

The 34-year-old Argentinian superstar was presented to media from all over the world at a news conference at the Parc des Princes after arriving in the French capital the previous day and penning a two-year contract with the option of a third season.

PSG quickly emerged as the favourites to sign Messi following the shock of his departure last week from Barcelona and he arrives eyeing a fifth Champions League, with the most recent of his four victories with his old club coming in 2015.

“I have said many times that my dream is to win another Champions League, and I think I am in the ideal place to have that chance and to do it,” Messi told reporters inside a packed auditorium, with the audience including his wife Antonella, their children, and his father and agent, Jorge.

Messi and Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League last season by PSG, who went on to reach the semi-finals following their run to the final in 2020.

“Sometimes you can have the best team in the world and not win. That’s football,” Messi, who won 35 trophies in total with Barca, added as he prepares to team up with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in Paris.

“We know how difficult the Champions League is but Paris know that too — they have come very close in recent years but it is a competition in which the best teams take part and the best team doesn’t always win.”

PSG are reportedly paying 35 million euros ($41 million) a year to Messi, who will wear the number 30 jersey — fans were already queuing up outside the club’s different shops in the capital on Wednesday morning to buy the shirt with his name and number on the back. 

Messi was given a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Paris on Tuesday, greeting supporters at Le Bourget airport to the north of the city and waving from the balcony of the plush hotel where he is staying near the Champs Elysees.

On Wednesday, he appeared unfazed as he emerged, immaculately turned out, to talk to media, although he did seem slightly uneasy at times, not least when one member of the audience started chanting his name.

Unlike when Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed for PSG in 2012 there was no glitzy unveiling in front of the Eiffel Tower, but Messi was photographed on the pitch before greeting the supporters who had waited at the stadium entrance, watching his press conference on a big screen.

“I’m very proud to present Leo Messi as a PSG player,” said Nasser Al Khelaifi, the president of the Qatar-owned outfit. “It is an amazing and historic day for the club, for the football world.”

Messi made no secret of his sadness at leaving Barca, the only club he has so far represented in his 17-year professional career, as he gave a tearful news conference at the Camp Nou last weekend.

However on Wednesday he said he was looking forward to getting started in his new home.

“Everyone knows that my departure from Barca was very hard because I spent so many years there, but as soon as I arrived here I felt enormously happy,” said the player who scored 672 goals in 778 games for the Catalans.

“Now I can’t wait to start training.”

Messi has had no pre-season having been on holiday since winning the Copa America with Argentina a month ago.

He is therefore unlikely to make his debut for PSG any time soon, and certainly not this weekend when Mauricio Pochettino’s team play Strasbourg at home in Ligue 1.

PSG are now even more obvious favourites to run away with the French title, a trophy they missed out on last season to Lille.

However, despite concerns about a lack of competitive balance, French League President Vincent Labrune hailed the arrival of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner as “extraordinary news for the exposure of Ligue 1 internationally”.

“The arrival of Lionel Messi will increase the attractiveness and visibility of our league on all continents,” he said.

Attention, though, will now turn to the future of 22-year-old Mbappe, who has just a year left on his contract and has been strongly linked to Real Madrid.

“Kylian is a Parisian, he’s very competitive. He said he wanted a competitive team,” Khelaifi said.

“Now there’s no-one more competitive than us. He has no reason to do anything else, other than stay,” he added.

AMMAN — The Tokyo Paralympic Games will provide more Jordanian athletes with a chance to get on the podium, break records and compete alongside the world’s best as the Kingdom joins nations at the world’s biggest sporting gathering.

Since 1984, Jordan has won a total of 12 medals at the Paralympics (1 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze). 

The Paralympic team is currently on a final training camp in Turkey before they head to Tokyo next week for the August 24 — September 5 Paralympic Games.

At this edition, Jordan has qualified 10 athletes in three events: table tennis, athletics and weightlifting. The delegation will be headed by Jordan Paralympic Committee Secretary General and the only athlete to ever win a Paralympic gold medal for Jordan, former wheelchair table tennis ace Maha Barghouti.

The delegation will include Ahmad Hindi in athletics, Beijing and Athens bronze medallist veteran Khitam Abu Awad and Faten Oleimat in table tennis and seven athletes in power lifting: Athens and Beijing silver medallist and Rio bronze medallist Jamil Shibli, Rio silver medallist Omar Karadeh, Beijing bronze medallist Mutaz Juneidi, Rio silver medallist Tharwat Hajjaj, Mohammad Tarbash, Abdul Karim Khattab and Asma Issa.

While many are decorated Paralympic medallists, the team includes new faces including Khattab who won the bronze at the World Championship in the 88kg category.

Athletes with disabilities have usually made up for the failure to achieve better results on the Olympic scene, where even qualifying to the world’s premier sports gathering has been a daunting task, and since first participating in 1980, the Kingdom was yet to earn an Olympic medal up until 2016. 

Since the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Jordan’s national anthem was played twice: the first when Barghouti won a gold medal at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 (wheelchair table tennis) and then at the Rio Olympics 2016 by Ahmad Abu Ghaush (taekwondo’s 68 kg category). At this year’s Tokyo Games, two medals were won as Jordan’s Saleh Al Sharabaty grabbed a silver (taekwondo — 80kg category), while a second medal, a bronze, was secured by Abdul Rahman Al Masatfa (-67 kg category) as karate made its debut as an Olympic sport.

A look back at past participations demonstrates how sports for the disabled has gained recognition for Jordan through impressive performances on the international scene with the crowning achievement Barghouti’s gold in Sydney 2000. Jordan’s medals tally started in 1984, when the late Aida Shishani won bronze in athletics, 200m. At the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics, Imad Gharbawi won a silver medal in the discus. Two medals were added in Athens 2004 when Jamil Shibli won silver in the shot put while the women’s table tennis team (Khitam Abu Awad and Fatima Azzam) won bronze. (Abu Awad later on won silver at the 2006 World Championship).

In 2008, Jordan’s athletes competed in table tennis, power-lifting and athletics and ended competition with a record four medals, two silvers and two bronze. Mohammad Qaradeh took silver in power lifting; Shibli, a silver medallist in Athens 2004, added a second silver with a new Paralympic world record in the shot put, Juneidi won a bronze medal in power-lifting and the women’s wheelchair table tennis team won bronze when Fatima Azzam and Khitam Abu Awad repeated their bronze medal win in Athens 2004.

The 2012 Paralympics was the most disappointing participation after the usual winners in table tennis failed to advance past the round of 16 while power lifters were embroiled in controversy amid assault complaints and were returned home.

In Rio 2016, Jordan won three medals in power lifting (two silvers by Tharwat Hajjaj (86kg category) and Omar Karadeh (49kg category), while 2004 and 2008 silver medallist Jamil Shibli won bronze (+107 Kg category). 

Paralympic athletes are grouped in classes defined by the degree of function presented by the disability. Traditionally there are athletes who belong to six different disability groups in the Paralympics Movement: amputee, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, spinal cord injuries, intellectual disability and a group which includes all those who are not within the aforementioned groups.

Following the Olympics and Paralympics, a reshuffle in sports federations is expected soon as they end their four-year terms, with sports observers calling for qualified members of federations to lead a better planning and assessment role to put Jordan on the competitive sporting map.

PARIS — Lionel Messi landed in Paris on Tuesday with the 34-year-old Argentinian superstar set to sign a deal with Paris Saint-Germain following his departure from boyhood club Barcelona.

Messi arrived at Le Bourget airport to the north of the French capital around 3:30 pm (13:30 GMT) and was greeted by hundreds of PSG supporters who had gathered hoping to catch a glimpse of their new signing.

Messi, who waved to the crowds while sporting a Paris t-shirt, was then expected to undergo a medical before his signing could be made official by the Qatar-backed club.

Messi’s father Jorge, who is also his agent, earlier confirmed the inevitable as he arrived at Barcelona’s El Prat airport to board a flight to France.

Asked by reporters if his son would sign for the French club, he replied: “Yes”. 

PSG are set to unveil Messi at a press conference at their Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday.

He is expected to sign an initial two-year deal, and the completion of his move will close a whirlwind few days following the announcement last Thursday that he would leave Barcelona, the club he has represented for the entirety of his 17-year professional career.

PSG’s move for Messi had been an open secret for days, although reports in Spain on Monday night talked of a “final offer” by Barcelona to try to keep the player.

Instead, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner will join a PSG attack already featuring Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

PSG see Messi as the missing piece in their jigsaw as they chase the Champions League, the trophy they want more than anything else.

“Back together,” Neymar, who played with Messi at Barcelona before moving to PSG in 2017, posted on Twitter.

Coming to terms

Barcelona are still coming to terms with the departure of their greatest ever player, who said goodbye to his club of two decades at a tearful news conference on Sunday.

Despite offering to cut his salary by half to seal a new five-year contract with Barcelona, the deal foundered on Spanish league salary cap rules.

Barcelona, carrying debts of 1.2 billion euros ($1.41 billion), are unable to register new signings because of their financial predicament.

With Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City having ruled themselves out, PSG were about the only club who could afford what is expected to be a deal worth 35 million euros ($41 million) a year.

“I gave everything for Barcelona from the first day that I arrived right to the last. I never imagined having to say goodbye,” Messi said on Sunday.

“I have still not come to terms with the reality of leaving this club now — I love this club.”

He leaves Barcelona with 672 goals in 778 appearances, a record tally for one club.

Messi won 35 trophies at the Camp Nou after joining Barca aged 13, but his last appearance was a damp squib: a 2-1 home defeat behind closed doors against Celta Vigo in May.

His trophy haul includes four Champions Leagues and 10 La Liga titles.

“It will be difficult to see him in another shirt than that of Barca,” Messi’s old Barcelona team-mate Andres Iniesta, now playing in Japan, told AFP in an interview on Tuesday.

“As a player he just transcended everything. I’ve not seen a player like him — and I don’t think I ever will. You look at what he did and for so long...”

Messi, who flew in to Paris with his wife and three children, is now preparing for a new life in Paris and in Ligue 1.

His arrival makes PSG even more obvious favourites to reclaim a French title they missed out on last season to Lille.

Some in Ligue 1 have mixed feelings about the impending arrival of arguably the greatest player of all time.

“It’s extraordinary for Ligue 1,” said Metz coach Frederic Antonetti.

“But for a purist like me, Messi should have finished his career at Barcelona.”

This summer PSG have already added veteran Spanish defender Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the star of Euro 2020.

They have also signed Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, snatching the Dutchman from under the noses of Barcelona, and spent 60 million euros on Inter Milan right-back Achraf Hakimi, who scored on his PSG league debut at the weekend.

An added attraction in moving to Paris is that coach Mauricio Pochettino, likeMessi, started his career at Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, Argentina.

AMMAN — Wihdat head into Week 13 with a three point lead in the 69th Jordan Professional Football League (Pro League).

After Faisali and Ramtha led the standings in most of Leg 1, teams seemed to refocus after ending Asian competitions as well as national team qualifiers with two titles remaining locally — the league and Jordan Cup.

Leaders Wihdat will play Ramtha, while Salt are second after they beat Shabab Urdun 2-1 and now play Jazira who led throughout last year’s league, but find themselves midway through the standings now. Ramtha are third after they beat Aqaba 2-0.

Faisali are fourth after an unexpected 2-1 loss to Sahab while Hussein have jumped into the top five with a 1-0 win over Ma’an. Aqaba and Baqa’a are in the relegation zone together with Sahab, who are one point away from Ma’an and Jalil.

The league has witnessed inconsistent performances, with the first half of the competition seeing matches being delayed as the national team went through 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Jordan was eliminated and now goes through another stage of qualifying to get to the 2023 Asian Cup.

So far in local competitions, a newcomer to the Pro League, relatively unknown Jalil, overcame Wihdat to win the 34th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield — the first of the season competitions. Wihdat jumped back to win their 14th Super Cup when they beat one-time winners Jazira in 38th Jordan Super Cup, the second title up for grabs in the 2021 football season.

Last season, Wihdat won their 17th league title while Jazira finished runner-up, leaving Ramtha third and former champs Faisali settled for fifth after Salt. Sarih dropped alongside eight-time league champ veterans Ahli after a disappointing season. Ahli, were relegated last decade, but came back to win the Jordan Cup in 2015 and played in the AFC. Jalil and Baqa’a joined the 12-club Pro League this year. Wihdat also won their 10th JFA Shield title. Faisali overcame Jazira to win their 17th Jordan Super Cup as the Jordan Cup was scrapped from the agenda for the first time since the competition kicked off in 1980.

Since the league kicked off in 1944 with only Faisali, Ahli, Urdun and Homenetmen competing, Faisali are 34-time record league champs while Wihdat won 17 times since they joined in 1980. Although Faisali are the all-time record titleholders, Wihdat’s record is quite impressive. After four years in the Pro League, they won their first title in 1980 and have gone on to win the majority of titles since then.

On the regional scene, Wihdat played Group D of the Asian Champions League, but was knocked out in the first round. In the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup, Salt, who played their inaugural AFC Cup, advanced to the semifinals of the West Asia Zone after taking second spot in Group B while Faisali were knocked out after finishing third in Group C. The top team in each of the zone’s three groups alongside the best second placed team moved on to the zonal semifinals before teams play the advanced inter zonal knockout stages and final of the second-tier Asian club competition. The zonal semifinals will be played in September when Salt play Kuwait FC and Lebanon’s Al Ahed face Bahrain’s Muharraq. 

In the 2020 AFC Cup, Faisali played alongside Jazira before the tournament was scrapped with the COVID-19 pandemic halting regional and international sporting agendas.

TORONTO, Canada — Rafael Nadal will count upon day-to-day improvement for a long-term foot injury if he is to fight for the title when the ATP Toronto Masters begins on Monday.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion has won five Canadian titles, including the 2018 and 2019 editions. The event was not held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The 35-year-old Spaniard remains concerned about a long-term foot injury that flared up at Roland Garros in May and kept him away from Wimbledon and the Olympics.

“It has been a couple of tough months for me with physical issues,” Nadal said on Sunday ahead of his most successful hardcourt stop.

Nadal, the Toronto second seed, won his comeback match on Wednesday in Washington but would open in Toronto against 50th-ranked Lloyd Harris, who eliminated him at the US capital, if the South African beats a qualifier in his opener.

“I’m not at a peak but I’m training better here than in Washington,” Nadal said. “I’m excited to keep going here and play a little better — I want to compete well.”

Olympic quarter-finalist Daniil Medvedev heads a depleted field at an event which is missing two of the “Big 3” players.

With World No. 1 Novak Djokovic giving the week a miss after his frustrating medal-less performance at Tokyo and Roger Federer still out with his lingering knee problems, Medvedev and Nadal head the seedings.

Other absentees include Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev, injured US Open winner Dominic Thiem and Italian Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini.

Young Italian Lorenzo Musetti was arbitrarily dismissed from qualifying rounds by officials after violating the strict player COVID-19 lockdown protocols.

Medvedev’s way will not be eased by what is forecast as summer heat up to 30ºC in Canada. The Russian made his dissatisfaction known at the Olympics, where he had to compete in torrid conditions which he said had threatened his health.

“Tokyo had some of the toughest conditions I’ve ever played in,” he said on Sunday.

“The heat and the humidity was something quite special. The body is not used to it.

“That’s why I was suffering. But [after training this week in Florida heat] I feel very good coming, especially physically.”

The 25-year-old owns three ATP 1000-level trophies as well as the London year-end title from last November. He also lost the 2019 Canada final to Nadal.

Stefanos Tsitsipas is seeded third but has a bye like the rest of the top eight seeds. The Greek lost a Canada final to Nadal three years ago.

Russian Andrey Rublev takes fifth seed ahead of Canadian hero Denis Shapovalov, who has defeated Nadal, Juan Martin del Potro (both 2017) and Nick Kyrgios (2016) on Canadian courts.

Moving up the rankings and standing 12th is Norway’s sixth seed Casper Ruud, winner of three European clay titles in three weeks this summer.

Nadal crashed out of his ATP comeback event after a two-month layoff on Thursday, but said his injured foot is improved and that keeps him believing “important things are possible”.

The 35-year-old Spanish left-hander, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, lost to South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in a third-round match at the Citi Open.

Nadal aggravated a foot injury in a three-set victory Wednesday over American Jack Sock on the Washington hardcourts in his first match since losing a French Open semifinal to Djokovic.

“Best news, the foot was better,” Nadal said. “I was able to move a bit better, so that’s very important, especially for me personally, to keep enjoying the sport and keep having energy, believing that important things are possible.”

The most important thing on Nadal’s upcoming schedule is the US Open, which begins on August 30.

Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer all enter the US Open with a men’s record 20 career Slam titles, with Djokovic trying to complete the first men’s calendar-year Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

“I need to keep improving,” Nadal said. “I had a lot of problems with my foot. I was not able to practice all the days that I really wanted, but I did as much as I could.

“And I tried hard here. I try very hard. But was not enough. I’m going to keep trying to practice the proper way and to give myself a chance to be better soon.”