A huge month of tennis begins in Toronto this week when the National Bank Open, formerly the Rogers Cup, takes place in the Canadian city as the leading players in the game begin their build-up to the US Open.
Pablo Carreno Busta warmed up for the final Grand Slam of the year in perfect style a year ago when he took this title down in Montreal but he isn’t in the field this week so we are guaranteed a different champion.
Recent Winners
2022 – Pablo Carreno Busta
2021 – Daniil Medvedev
2019 – Rafael Nadal
2018 – Rafael Nadal
2017 – Alexander Zverev
2016 – Novak Djokovic
2015 – Andy Murray
2014 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2013 – Rafael Nadal
2012 – Novak Djokovic
The Format
The ATP Masters 1000 format is pretty well known these days. 56 men will make it into the main draw with the top eight seeds automatically progressing through to the second round. The other 48 men compete in the first round to join them. Every match in the tournament from start to finish is the best-of-three sets with a tiebreak in the third set to decide the contest. The champion will be determined in the final on Sunday.
Top Quarter
The world number one and recent Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz is the top seed in the draw this week and he heads up the top quarter as a result of that. Each of the quarters have two seeds who bypass the first round and as well as Alcaraz in the top one we have fellow young star Holder Rune. There are also two other seeds in each quarter with the beaten finalist of last year one of those in Hubert Hurkacz. Tommy Paul is the other one.
There are never a shortage of recognisable names in these particular tournaments and there are some among the qualifiers and unseeded players in the top quarter. Diego Schwartzman came through qualifying to take his place in this section as did Cristian Garin while Francisco Cerundolo was the Eastbourne finalist a month ago. Alexander Bublik is another who has gone well recently who’ll be looking for a big week here.
Second Quarter
Stefanos Tsitsipas is probably glad to be off the grass and goes into the week as the winner in Los Cabos and the fourth seed for this tournament. That makes him the leading seed in the second quarter and he is one of the players automatically through to the second round as a result. The other seed ranked high enough for that honour is the Wimbledon semi-finalist Jannik Sinner. The other two seeds in this quarter are the home star Felix Auger-Aliassime and Borna Coric.
This is very much one of those sections which has some household unseeded names in it. The former champion Andy Murray will head up those as he looks to secure a seeding for the US Open while Grigor Dimitrov has been in decent touch in recent times and he is also in this quarter. Gael Monfils and the newly popular star on the scene, Christopher Eubanks, are two more in this section with Lorenzo Sonego, Sebastian Korda and Matteo Berrettini all capable of deep runs.
Third Quarter
Casper Ruud is the third seed in the tournament and he is the main man in the third quarter this week. That position gets him straight through to the second round of the competition with the other player in this quarter getting the same reward being Andrey Rublev. Frances Tiafoe is having a fabulous season and he is in this third quarter and the other seeded player in it is the former champion Alexander Zverev.
In terms of truly huge names there aren’t many in the unseeded ranks in this section. Milos Raonic is one of them though as he bids to return to where he was in the game before injuries set in. Tallon Griekspoor was a finalist in Washington last week so will arrive here with his confidence high while Alejandro Davidovich Fokina capable of big things when it all comes together. Brandon Nakashima and Adrian Mannarino are among those hoping to go under the radar.
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Bottom Quarter
Daniil Medvedev usually comes alive when he gets onto the hard courts in North America and he is the second seed in the tournament this week and the highest ranked player in the bottom quarter of the draw. He will enter the event in the second round with the Atlanta champion Taylor Fritz also in that position in this quarter. The other two seeds in this quarter looking to stop those two meeting in the quarter final are Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti.
This is a quarter where British fans will have plenty of attention as Dan Evans will look to back up a brilliant return to form in Washington last week from this quarter of the draw. Alex de Minaur was beaten in the Los Cabos final on Sunday and he is in this bottom quarter while the home pair of Vasek Pospisil and Gabriel Diallo, both in on wildcard spots this week, will hope to take full advantage of their invitations. Nicolas Jarry could go well if the courts are quick.
Outright Betting
I’ll go with two bets for this week with the first of them coming in the form of Taylor Fritz, who really should be looking to make a major impact in the next month having kicked off his hard court run with the win in Atlanta. He followed that up with a run to the semi-final in Washington so he arrives in Toronto with plenty of winning form behind him in the last few weeks. Conditions in Toronto should suit Fritz nicely as the ball can get through these courts and you would have to say that the bottom half is the place to be with Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev weak seeds so Daniil Medvedev is the only chief threat. Were they to meet in the quarter final I don’t think Fritz would be a huge outsider so I’m prepared to have him as my main bet.
I’ll also side with Frances Tiafoe who looks like he could have a plot draw in that third quarter should he overcome the home favourite Milos Raonic in the first round. The American has won the title in Houston and Stuttgart this season, the latter which was only around six weeks ago, and he made the quarter final of the event in Washington last week. Tiafoe would run into Casper Ruud in the last 16 and Andrey Rublev in the quarter final so there is a real pathway to the semi-final open to him. That makes me think the 40/1 on the American is a shade too big.
Tips
Back T.Fritz to win National Bank Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 19.00 with Boylesports (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
Back F.Tiafoe to win National Bank Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 41.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
Back him here:
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