Jannik Sinner competes in Montreal, with Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev in action | ATP Tour

Sinner protects his throne in Montreal, with Zverev and Medvedev lurking

A detailed summary of next week’s action

August 05, 2024

The world’s top players are bidding for a sixth ATP Masters 1000 title of the year at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Montreal.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the reigning Toronto champion, headlines a field that also includes Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev. ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch in the week ahead.

1) Sinner Is Current Champion: After withdrawing from the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, the Italian is competing for the first time since the Wimbledon quarter-finals. A year ago, Sinner claimed his first career ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto. Now, at 22, he returns to Canada as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and with an impressive 42-4 record on the season.

2) Zverev Seeks His 2nd Title Of The Season: Zverev has fond memories of Montreal, where he won the title in 2017. The German, champion this season at the Rome Masters 1000, leads the ATP Tour with 44 victories in 2024.

3) Can Medvedev Dominate Montreal? The third seed has called himself a hard-court specialist. Back on his preferred surface for the first time since March in Miami, Medvedev will be seeking his first trophy since winning Rome last year. A six-time Masters 1000 champion, Daniil capped the Canadian tournament in 2021 at the Toronto venue.

4) Felix as Local Favorite: Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime arrives at his home tournament after a magnificent performance at the Paris Olympics, where he reached the semi-finals in the singles event and took the bronze medal in mixed doubles alongside Gabriela Dabrowski. Quarter-finalist in 2022, and runner-up in Madrid this season, Auger-Aliassime will try to take another step towards winning his first Masters 1000 trophy.

5) Top 10 Great Aspirants: Andrey Rublev arrives in Montreal after reaching the quarter-finals 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 form after suffering a knee injury at Wimbledon.

6) Fils Finds His Place: The Hamburg champion will be looking to consolidate his lead in the PIF ATP Live Rankings in Jeddah. One of the bright young stars in the locker room, Fils is looking to return to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, which will take place in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) from 18 to 22 December.

7) Raonic and Shapovalov carry the local weight: Former world No. 3 Milos Raonic and former semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov are among the four Canadian wildcards. Gabriel Diallo, champion two weeks ago at the ATP Challenger Tour in Chicago, and Vasek Pospisil are also in the draw.

8) Americans Seek Glory: No American man has won the Canadian Masters 1000 since Andy Roddick in 2003. This season, the United States has three players among the top 12 seeds: Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Ben Shelton.

9) Any Dark Horses In The Tournament? When the Canada Masters 1000 was held in Montreal two years ago, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta produced a memorable performance, becoming the first unseeded player to win the tournament since 2002. Many players will be looking to emulate that feat this week, with Fils, Sebastian Korda, Nicolas Jarry, Alexander Bublik and Jack Draper among the candidates.

10) Granollers/Zeballos Lead Doubles: Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, leaders of the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, open their bid for their second Masters 1000 title of the season (Rome). Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden and Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury – champions in 2021 – also compete this week in Canada.