Several stars of the ATP and WTA Tours remain in Paris for the Olympic tennis competition but attention will soon turn to the North American hard-court season, which ramps up with the National Bank Open.
Otherwise known as the Canadian Open, The National Bank Open, is a 1000 Series tournament and the men and women alternate between Montreal and Toronto each season with the ATP aces competing in Quebec for the 2024 edition while the women of the WTA are in Ontario.
National Bank Open Tips: Jannik Sinner
Four-time champion Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Montreal event so rising stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will dispute favouritism for the first Masters 1000 title of the North American summer. While Alcaraz has been on a brilliant run with titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, he has been busy competing in two disciplines in Paris, taking aim at singles gold as well as doubles glory with Rafael Nadal. He could be running on empty when he gets to Canada while Sinner is likely to be much fresher.
The world number one has been overshadowed by Alcaraz’s achievements over the last few months but he has still had a superb season, capturing a first Grand Slam title in Australia in January and claiming three more ATP Tour titles. While he was forced to withdraw from the Olympics with tonsillitis, Sinner should be fully fit for this assignment. He claimed the National Bank Open title in Toronto last season and it would come as no surprise if he was able to repeat.
National Bank Open Tips: Felix Auger-Aliassime
There will be a huge swell of support for Felix Auger-Aliassime and the Canadian could be worth following at bigger prices in his homeland. Auger-Aliassime has not been at his best for a while but there have been signs of life in recent months as he reached the final of the Madrid Open, which is also a 1000 Series event, as well as the last eight in the Olympics.
National Bank Open Tips: Aryna Sabalenka
Aryna Sabalenka missed Wimbledon through injury before skipping the Olympics and that decision could pay dividends for the Belarusian, who could prove fresher than most of her WTA Tour rivals in Toronto. Sabalenka returns to action in Washington this week and, provided she gets enough match time under her belt, that outing should have her primed for a run at the National Bank Open title.
The 26-year-old has yet to shine in this event but she was a Montreal semi-finalist in 2021 and she’s also reached the last four in her two most recent appearances in Cincinnati – an event which follows this one. Her credentials on fast hard-courts are undeniable and she will be pleased to return to her favoured surface, on which she has claimed two Australian Open titles and reached the final of last season’s US Open.
There are also question marks over her chief rivals – Iga Swiatek will have invested a lot of energy into the Olympics, Coco Gauff has not been at her best all season and Elena Rybakina has been hampered by illness on several occasions in 2024.
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