National Bank Open Preview: Alcaraz, Swiatek lead strong fields

The National Bank Open presented by Rogers is back.

Canada’s premier tennis tournament of the season hits Toronto and Montreal this week as the world’s top athletes will compete for glory.

It is one of the nine 1000 level events on the ATP and WTA calendar and a marquee tournament with the U.S. Open, the season's final Grand Slam, just weeks away.

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz readies to play in Toronto for the first time, Milos Raonic makes a long-awaited return, Bianca Andreescu is poised for a run in Montreal, and numerous other superstars have their eyes on the trophy.

Here are five storylines to follow ahead of the action this week:

The Carlitos show touches down in Toronto

He’s the most electric and exciting tennis player Gen Z has ever seen, and now world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is ready for his Toronto debut.

The 20-year-old Spanish superstar has already achieved the pinnacle of the sport, winning Wimbledon last month by defeating all-time men’s grand slam leader Novak Djokovic in a spectacular four-hour, 43-minute showdown that featured some of the most jaw-dropping tennis we’ve seen in 2023.

The title was his second career major and sixth of the season.

Alcaraz is the most complete player in tennis – he has a brutal and devastating baseline game with the most potent forehand on tour, deft touch, dazzling hands at the net, and an immense competitive spirit.

He leads a loaded top half of the men’s draw and is set to lead off the Wednesday night session at Sobey’s Stadium against either American Ben Shelton or fellow Spaniard Bernade Zapata Miralles.

Iga hits MTL, Sabalenka, Rybakina among title threats

Poland's Iga Swiatek returns to Montreal as the women’s world No. 1 and it’s a rankings she’s become well accustomed to holding over the last 16 months.

The four-time major champion has held her reign atop women’s tennis for 70 weeks and counting and is coming off her fourth title of the season, emerging victorious at her home tournament in Warsaw.

Swiatek is just the third women’s player in Open Era history to tally 70 weeks or more in their first stint as a world No. 1, joining the likes of Steffi Graff and Martina Hingis.

She’ll be the woman to beat in Montreal.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus has given the closest chase to Swiatek in the rankings, and currently sits 645 points behind her.

The 25-year-old had her Grand Slam breakthrough at the front end of the season in Melbourne by winning the Australian Open and has since made finals in Indian Wells and Stuttgart, captured a WTA 1000 title at the Madrid Open on clay, and achieved semifinals runs at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina deservedly rounds out the top three of the WTA, with her runner-up finish at the Australian Open and titles in Indian Wells and Rome this year.

A quiet assassin with the best serve in the women’s game, Rybakina will line up against either Jennifer Brady or Jelena Ostapenko in her opening match.

Meantime, Czechia’s Marketa Vondrousova will compete in her first tournament since shocking the tennis world by winning Wimbledon as an unseeded competitor.

Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula lead the American contingent while 43-year-old legend Venus Williams was also given a wild card and squares off against compatriot Madison Keys in a mouth-watering first round clash.

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki is also coming out of retirement and competing in her first event in over three years.

Wozniacki, a former world No. 1 and the 2018 Australian Open champion, memorably won the title in Montreal 13 years ago.

Bianca and Leylah eyeing big summer performances

Any time Bianca Andreescu makes a return to the National Bank Open, memories surely come flooding back from her magical 2019 title run in Toronto.

Andreescu defeated three consecutive top-10 opponents en route to that title, becoming the first Canadian to win the event since Faye Urban did so in 1969.

Currently, the Mississauga, Ont. native is looking to string together more consistency on the WTA circuit.

Andreescu played well in Wimbledon, winning two matches before losing a close Centre Court clash to runner-up Ons Jabeur in the third round.

Last week, she stumbled at the Citi Open in Washington, failing to convert three match points, and losing her opening-round match to Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in three sets.

Andreescu has stayed the course in maintaining a positive and upbeat energy through the tough defeats and was in good spirits in practice.

2021 U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez returns home to Montreal, and her energy and on court intensity is sure to leave an impression on the thousands of fans packing Parc Jarry.

Fernandez, 20, has posted a 22-11 win/loss mark this season, though she hasn’t won consecutive main-draw matches since reaching the quarterfinals of Auckland back in early January.

She opens against a qualifier, and if she advances, would face the winner of Paula Badosa and Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round.

Hard-serving veteran Rebecca Marino of Vancouver also has a spot in the main draw and faces a qualifier in the first round.

Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa is in the field in doubles, while Canadians Eugenie Bouchard, Katherine Sebov and Carol Zhao all lost in qualifying.

Raonic’s return, Felix the top-ranked Canuck

It’s been five years since Milos Raonic has had the opportunity to play Toronto, and the 32-year-old is now back on the ATP circuit, more excited than ever to return to the event that is only 10 minutes down the road from where he grew up in Thornhill.

The 2016 Wimbledon finalist has dealt with a myriad of injuries that kept him sidelined for nearly two years before he returned to the tour in June, won a round of tennis at the All England Club, and now heads to the National Bank Open with a main-draw wild card.

“Personally, playing in front of Canadian fans will be great, but on a deeper personal note, my parents haven’t been able to come to a match of mine since 2019,” said Raonic on the Match Point Canada podcast.

The former world No. 3 produced his best result in Canada 10 years ago, when he reached the finals in Montreal.

Raonic is lined up for a blockbuster opening-round match against world No. 10 Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. on Monday night.

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is the top-ranked Canadian in the field and is eager to get his season back on track after a lacklustre first half marred by a bum knee and disappointing showings at the French Open and Wimbledon.

He’s hoping a return home to Canada can be the spark that reignites his year.

“Hopefully I can use this week as the turnaround of my season,” said the 22-year-old in his pre-tournament press conference.

“I don’t want to get too ahead of myself – I just need to stay cool, practise well, and try to play good tennis.”

He opens against a qualifier and could potentially face three-time major champion Andy Murray in the second round.

Veteran Vasek Pospisil, who played a pivotal role in Canada’s historic Davis Cup title last season, has a main draw wild-card and will take on a qualifier Monday night.

Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., and Gabriel Diallo of Montreal also received wild-card entries into the field.

Galarneau is coming off his first career ATP Challenger title in Granby, Que. and faces Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo.

Diallo, who’s on the rise and now inside the top 150 of the rankings, meets Daniel Evans of Great Britain.

Opportunity knocks for field without Novak

While Alcaraz is undoubtedly the favourite this week in Toronto, one of the sport’s greatest athletes in history is absent from the National Bank Open.

Djokovic withdrew from the event, citing fatigue after a long and physical two weeks at the All England Club.

Statistically, Djokovic is the greatest hard-court player in men’s history, and without his presence, several players should be licking their chops for a chance at a strong run.

2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev often saves his very best tennis for the summer hard-court season.

He won the title in Toronto two years ago ahead of his maiden major, and in 2019 lit up the circuit by reaching four consecutive hard-court finals before finishing runner-up at Flushing Meadows to Rafael Nadal in a thrilling five set clash.

His blend of big serving and counter-punching defence makes him a very tough out.

Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas has not had his usual run of consistency this season, though he did reach the final of the Australian Open to begin the year.

He will have fond memories of his 2018 in Toronto, where he knocked out four top-10 players in succession, including Djokovic, before losing a closely contested final to Nadal.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner, who was on hand for Friday’s draw ceremony downtown at the Hyatt Hotel, is perhaps the most talented player on the circuit without a Masters 1000 title.

He recently reached the semifinals of Wimbledon and was runner-up at the Miami Open back in April.

He’s one of several dangerous players lurking in the top half of the field alongside Holger Rune of Denmark, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who finished runner-up last season in Montreal, and wiry American Tommy Paul.

With 41 of the top 44 men’s players in Toronto, it’s setting up to be an unforgettable week of tennis.