Sinner defends Canada crown in Montreal; Zverev, Medvedev in action

The best players in the world are set for the sixth ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Montreal.

World No. 1 and defending Toronto champion Jannik Sinner leads the field with Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev also in action. ATPTour.com looks at 10 storylines to watch over the coming week.

1) Defending Champion Sinner: After withdrawing from the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, the Italian will make his first appearance since the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Last year’s title run in Toronto marked Sinner’s first Masters 1000 crown. Now the 22-year-old returns to Canadian soil as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, boasting a 42-4 season record.

2) Zverev Aims For Second Title Of Season: The second seed Zverev has fond memories in Montreal, where he won the title in 2017. Zverev, who this year lifted the trophy at the Masters 1000 event in Rome, leads the ATP Tour this season with 44 match wins.

3) Can Medvedev Master Montreal?: The third seed has lightheartedly said that he is a hard-court specialist. Now back on his beloved surface for the first time since March in Miami, Medvedev is aiming for his first title since Rome last year. A six-time Masters 1000 titlist, the 28-year-old won the Canadian event in 2021, when the tournament was held in Toronto.

4) Home Favourite Felix: Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime arrives at his home tournament following standout runs at the Paris Olympics, where he reached the semi-finals in singles and partnered Gabriela Dabrowski to win bronze in mixed doubles. A 2022 quarter-finalist, Auger-Aliassime aims to go one step further than this year’s Madrid runner-up finish to win his maiden Masters 1000 trophy.

5) Top 10 Seeds: Andrey Rublev arrives in Montreal following a quarter-final run in Washington. Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas return to hard courts for the first time since Miami. World No. 6 Hubert Hurkacz hopes to find his best level following a knee injury suffered at Wimbledon.

6) #NextGenATP Frenchman Fils: Hamburg champion Arthur Fils looks to consolidate his substantial lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. The two-time tour-level titlist is aiming for a return trip to the 20-and-under Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 18-22 December.

7) Raonic, Shapovalov Lead Home Hopes: Former World No. 3 Milos Raonic and 2017 semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov are among four Canadian main-draw wild cards. The 22-year-old 6’8” Gabriel Diallo, who two weeks ago won the ATP Challenger Tour event in Chicago, and Vasek Pospisil are also in the field.

8) Americans Aiming For Glory: An American man has not won the Canadian Masters 1000 event since Andy Roddick in 2003. This year, the United States has three players among the Top 12 seeds: Taylor Fritz, last year’s semi-finalist Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton.

9) Unseeded Surprise Run?: When the Canadian Masters 1000 tournament was held in Montreal two years ago, Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta went on a dream run, becoming the first unseeded player to win the tournament since 2002. Unseeded players hoping for their biggest career title this week include Fils, Sebastian Korda, Nicolas Jarry, Alexander Bublik and Jack Draper.

10) Granollers/Zeballos Doubles Top Seeds: Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, first in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, launch their quest for a second Masters 1000 title this season (Rome). Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden and 2021 champions Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury are also competing.