Some big names are absent, but the field is still stacked with quality..
After an epic Olympic showdown, it’s no surprise that Djokovic and Alcaraz are missing from this 1000 event in Montreal.
Defending Champion Jannik Sinner is the top seed and will get a bye to the second round with the other top 8 seeds:
- Rublev
- Medvedev
- Tsitsipas
- Dimitrov
- Hurkacz
- Ruud
- Zverev
Other absences of note are Musetti, De Minaur and Cerundolo. It’s a shame we won’t see Musetti who is at the peak of his powers right now. But after a stellar grass season, followed by a final in Umag and a bronze medal performance at the Olympics, the man needs a break for sure!
In the first quarter, Sinner will likely meet Alejandro Tabilo or Tallon Griekspoor in the round of 16 before a quarter final meeting with in-form American Tommy Paul who is the 10th seed in Montreal. Andrey Rublev will also be a danger in this quarter, but his form has been off in the past few months after a controversial disqualification in Dubai seemed to disrupt his rhythm.
Daniil Medvedev is the third seed and will open up against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Roman Safiullin in the second round and a possible 3rd round clash with Matteo Arnaldi or Karen Khachanov. An exciting quarter final match from this section could be Medvedev v Tsitsipas. The Greek player will have to navigate through players like Alex Michelsen, Ugo Humbert or Arthur Fils to set up that quarter final but he is well capable.
An intriguing 3rd quarter sees Hubert Hurkacz as the main threat along with Grigor Dimitrov, Felix Auger Aliassime and Ben Shelton. An interesting first round clash here will be Shelton v Alexander Bublik. That match will determine who plays either Alexei Popyrin of Australia or Tomas Machac of Czechia. Hurkacz will be favourite here, but he will need to be serving at his best to come out top in a quality draw.
Casper Ruud is seeded 6 and will meet the winner of Marcos Giron and Cameron Norrie in the second round. Ruud’s biggest threat in this quarter will no doubt be Taylor Fritz who he is scheduled to meet in the last 16 before the winner takes on Zverev, Rune or Jordan Thompson in the quarter final. Alexander Zverev in the second seed and will be anxious to have a deep run as we prepare for the US Open and Cincinnati in the coming weeks.
Speaking of the US Open, which begins in just 3 weeks, this tournament and Cincinnati next week are massive in terms of preparation for the final Grand Slam of the year. Players will hope to build confidence and momentum leading to the event. And just like the Olympics, hope to peak at the right time to make a great run in the event and hopefully challenge for the top prize.
Favourite: Jannik Sinner 2.96
2nd Fav: Daniil Medvedev 7.4
3rd Fav: Alexander Zverev: 8.6
I will be avoiding Sinner as he hasn’t been his best and the price has little value. Zverev is a decent bet if he can get past Fritz in the quarter final.
As a dark horse I’ll back Hurkacz at 19.5 on the Exchange.
Tips: 0.5 points Zverev, 0.5 points Hurkacz
Betfair Exchange link: https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/tennis/market/1.231461085