Rogers Cup sets new world record in attendance as 216,097 spectators turned up

The recently concluded Rogers Cup in Montreal has broken the record for fan attendance for a one-week event as 216,097 spectators attended throughout the tournament.

A host of stars such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic took part in the event. Alexander Zverev triumphed in a straight-set upset win over Federer in the final on Sunday (13 August).

"There was a tennis craze in our city in the last few weeks and it shows in our attendance numbers," tournament director Eugène Lapierre said, as quoted on DailyHive Montreal.

With the race between Federer and Nadal for the world number one ranking heating up during the course of the tournament, other stories took centre-stage.

Canadian Denis Shapovalov shocked the world when he defeated Nadal in the third round, becoming the youngest player to reach a Masters quarter-final at 18 years of age as well as the second-youngest player to ever defeat the new world number one.

The teenager went on to make the semi-finals where he lost to the eventual winner Zverev. However, Shapovalov skyrocketed in the rankings, going from 143 to 67.

Another talking point was whether Federer could win his sixth title of the year in his first appearance at Montreal since 2011.

However, he was upstaged by Zverev as the 20-year-old went on to claim his fifth title of the year as he climbed up to seventh in world rankings.

"There were compelling storylines throughout the tournament and the Montreal crowd once again demonstrated their love of tennis," Lapierre added. "It has been a while since we experienced such excitement for our sport."

The previous attendance record was also set in Montreal in 2011 as 213,760 spectators attended back then.