The entire round of 16 will be played out in the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday when the for the first time in the tournament everyone left in the draw will be playing on the same day of the latest Masters 1000 event of the year.
Wednesday was carnage for the top players with three of the top eight seeds bombing out in their opening match of the event. That has led to an opening of the draw which will keep the big names left in the tournament on their toes.
Center Court
Once again we have four matches on the main court and for the second day in succession the home star Milos Raonic will open up the show. He takes on Mackenzie McDonald who accounted for Andrey Rublev on Wednesday. When they are done the number two seed Daniil Medvedev will take to the court for a clash against Lorenzo Musetti. The night session looks a cracker with the world number one Carlos Alcaraz taking on the finalist from last year in Hubert Hurkacz opening up the show before Jannik Sinner looks to make progress against the former champion Andy Murray.
Special Offer
OPEN AN ACCOUNT WITH 888SPORT AND BET £10 TO GET £30 IN FREE BETS PLUS A £10 CASINO BONUS! PERFECT OFFER TO USE ON THIS TOURNAMENT! CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO JOIN. USE CODE 30F. NEW ACCOUNTS ONLY. 18+ T&Cs apply (See image for significant terms). Gamble Aware.
Grandstand
The remainder of the draw takes place on the Grandstand court where the number three seed Casper Ruud opens up the show when he takes on the Spanish player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina before our outright bet Taylor Fritz goes up against the finalist in Mexico last week in Alex de Minaur in the standout match on the second court. Gael Monfils is having a fine week so far which includes a win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday and he meets Aleksandar Vukic for a place in the quarter final. The last match on this court sees two American players in action when Tommy Paul meets Marcos Giron.
Betting
The bet I like over the course of Thursday is for Milos Raonic to take care of Mackenzie McDonald. If we go back to when the Canadian was in his pomp he would be a massive favourite for this match and while he isn’t there given that this is just his third tournament since missing the better part of two years with injury, the play he has displayed this week has been of a quality that certainly suggests his fitness issues are a thing of the past and that he could get back to where he once was.
McDonald had a fine win over Andrey Rublev in the previous round but he has been up and down in 2023 and is hard to trust. He does have an acceptable record on a hard court this season but these courts in Toronto have been playing quick and you wonder just how many Raonic service games the American will be able to get into. Raonic has been bombing aces and winners down all tournament and has seen off a form horse in Frances Tiafoe already. I have him a touch shorter than the bookmakers so he is my bet for Thursday.
Tips
Back M.Raonic to beat M.McDonald for a 3/10 stake at 1.90 with Betway
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2023
