Federer helps set world record in Montreal

Roger Federer had so many fans flocking to the Rogers Cup in Montreal that he inadvertently helped set a world record.

On the back of Federer and Rafael Nadal's wonderful resurgence in 2017, fans flooded the stadiums and practics courts at the Canadian Open in an attempt to watch the tennis superstars in action.

The overall attandance at the US Open lead-up event ended up at 216,097 - a world record for a one-week tournament.

The previous record was set in 2011 at 213,760, and Rogers Cup director Eugenie Lapierre reckons the Federer-Nadal storyline, as well as the giant-killing run of hometown hero Denis Shapovalov, were the main reasons.

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"There was a tennis craze in our city in the last few weeks and it shows in our attendance numbers," Lepierre said.

"There were compelling story lines 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."

Canadian 18-year-old Shapovalov became the youngest player in history to reach the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 tournament, largely thanks to his incredible upset over new world No.1 Nadal.

"It was due to Federer and Shapovalov," Lapierre said.

"In each session where one or the other were playing, the stadium was sold out.

"It means that 500 or 600 tickets were sold because of their presence. Of course, when we are sold out, it's good for the attendance and the revenues."