Tennis fans are still jazzed about the Wimbledon final from three weeks ago and the epic (also very long) match between Roger Federer and eventual winner Novak Djokovic.
Neither Federer nor Djokovic will play this coming week in Montreal as the Rogers Cup returns to “La Belle Province,” but there’s still plenty of talent competing including Canada’s top players. (The women will compete in Toronto).
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the main draw, which begins Monday, plus five storylines we’re watching.
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Top 8 tournament seeds:
1. Rafael Nadal (Spain)
2. Dominic Thiem (Austria)
3. Alexander Zverev (Germany)
4. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece)
5. Kei Nishikori (Japan)
6. Karen Khachanov (Russia)
7. Fabio Fognini (Italy)
8. Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
*The top eight seeds of the tournament are given a first-round bye.
Defending champion: Rafael Nadal (defeated Tsitsipas in 2018)
Canadians in the mix: Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is the top Canadian seed at the tournament and has managed to stay relatively healthy in 2019.
Young stars Felix Auger-Aliassime, playing in his hometown, and Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., always bring an exciting game when playing in their home country and are fun to watch.
Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., Brayden Schnur of Pickering, Ont., along with Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil round out the Canadians in the main draw.
Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., Toronto’s Steven Diez and Filip Peliwo from Vancouver are all qualifiers competing over the weekend for spots in the main draw.
FIVE STORYLINES TO WATCH
Nadal’s tournament to lose
After winning his fourth Rogers Cup title in Toronto last year, Rafael Nadal is entering this year’s event as the clear favourite.
Two of his four Canadian tournament titles have come in Montreal in 2005 and 2013. This year, he will face either world No. 25 Alex de Minaur or a qualifier in Round 2. Barring an upset, he should make to it the latter part of the week easily.
The 33-year-old Nadal is ranked No. 2 in the world and has a 37-6 record this season with wins at Roland Garros and the Italian Open.
He should be well rested after not playing since a semifinal loss to Federer at Wimbledon.
Not that Nadal should need much motivation, but the last time he played this tournament in Montreal, he was upset by Shapovalov in the Round of 16.
Rafael Nadal of Spain, right, congratulates Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece after defeating him to win the 2018 Rogers Cup men’s final.(Frank Gunn/CP)
Can Shapovalov bounce back at home?
It’s been a rough 2019 so far for Denis Shapovalov, who enters the tournament on a five-match winless run.
The 20-year-old has lost nine of his last 11 matches with struggles dating back to the Miami Open where he fell in the semifinal to Federer.
If there’s one thing going for Shapovalov is that the Rogers Cup has been a breakthrough tournament in the past.
He recorded his first ATP Tour win in Toronto in 2016 before going on a magical run in 2017 where he beat Nadal before falling to Zverev in the semifinals.
Shapovalov is ranked No. 31 in the world and lost in the Round of 16 at last year’s event. Never count out “Shapo” at the Rogers Cup.
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Is it Tsitsipas’s time?
Stefanos Tsitsipas is another young phenom on the tour and has two titles to his name at Estoril and Marseille already this year.
Last year was a breakthrough season for him and a final appearance at the Rogers Cup helped boost that case.
The 20-year-old Greek is coming into the tournament hungry after a first-round upset against Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano at Wimbledon. Before that, he fell to Auger-Aliassime in the quaterfinals of the Fever-Tree Championships.
Tsitsipas gets a first-round bye this year.
Canadian flavour
We’ve already mentioned Shapovalov as a top-end Canadian name to watch for at the Rogers Cup, but Raonic and Auger-Aliassime are also intriguing.
Raonic is coming off a fourth round exit at Wimbledon while falling to Thiem earlier in the year at the BNP Paribas Open semifinals. His best Rogers Cup finish was in 2013 when he lost to Nadal in the final.
Auger-Aliassime has been having a rockstar-type season by reaching the final of three tournaments this year: Mercedes Cup, Lyon Open and Rio Open. He’s only 18-years-old and is already ranked No. 22 in the world. Auger-Aliassime takes on fellow Canadian Pospisil — a first-round Wimbledon rematch — to open the event.
The winner will face either Raonic or France’s Lucas Pouille in Round 2.
Is playing in his hometown tournament where we see the teenager win his first ATP Tour title?
Canada’s Milos Raonic celebrates winning the first set in his men’s quarterfinals match against John Isner at the 2018 Wimbledon Open. (Ben Curtis/AP)
Zverev repeat in Montreal?
Zverev has found plenty of success and hardware on the hard court over the last couple years.
The 22-year-old German captured five titles in 2017 and followed it up by lifting four more trophies in 2018 — five coming on the hard court.
Zverev won in Montreal in 2017 and captured the Geneva Open in May.
Dominic Thiem is another entry who is having a good year with three titles already in 2019 including a win Saturday at his hometown Generali Open.
Look for both Zverev and Thiem to have solid tournaments in Montreal.
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