Federer, Shapovalov help men’s Rogers Cup set attendance record

MONTREAL – The men’s Rogers Cup set a record for attendance at a one-week tournament of 216,097 spectators.

Tournament director Eugene Lapierre said Sunday it topped the 213,760 who attended in 2011.

The presence of Wimbledon champion Roger Federer and a run to the semifinals by Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov certainly helped pack fans into Uniprix Stadium.

“There was a tennis craze in our city in the last few weeks and it shows in our attendance numbers,” Lapierre said in a release. “There were compelling storylines throughout the tournament and the Montreal crowd once again demonstrated their love of tennis.

“It has been a while since we experienced such excitement for our sport.”

The 18-year-old Shapovalov beat World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the third round earlier in the week and lost to fourth seed and World No. 8 Alexander Zverev in the semifinals on Saturday night.

Federer played Zverev in the final on Sunday.