ATP Toronto Masters: Alcaraz, Rune and Sinner headline top half; Medvedev, Ruud in other half
Alcaraz returns for first ATP tournament since winning his second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon
Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 National Bank Open
The three young players expected to dominate men’s tennis in the coming years – Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner – all found themselves in the top half of the ATP Toronto Masters when the draw was made on Friday. Meanwhile, world No 3 Daniil Medvedev, who is seeded second in the absence of second-ranked Novak Djokovic, finds himself in the bottom half along with third seed Casper Ruud, countryman Andrey Rublev and top-ranked American Taylor Fritz. Here’s our breakdown of the 2023 National Bank Open.
- First Quarter: Alcaraz, Rune seeded to meet in quarters
Playing his first ATP tournament since his Wimbledon triumph, world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz has a bye in the first round as one of the top 8 seeds. The Spaniard could face another 20-year-old, the big-hitting American Ben Shelton in the second round, and 15th seed Hubert Hurkacz in the third round. although the Pole has a tough opening round assignment against Kazakhastan’s Alexander Bublik.
Alcaraz is drawn to meet sixth seed Holger Rune in the quarter-finals. The Dane gets Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori or a qualifier in the second round and could run into 12th seed Tommy Paul in the last 16.
- Second Quarter: Tsitsipas projected to meet Sinner; Murray Monfils also in this section
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top player in the second quarter. The Greek, who plays the Los Cabos final on Saturday as he attempts to win his first title of 2023, faces the winner of the electrifying first round match between French veteran Gael Monfils and 2023 breakout star Chris Eubanks.
Tsitsipas has 14th seed Borna Coric, who he beat in the Los Cabos semis, in the third round but the Croat will have to get past the in-form Grigor Dimitrov, who plays in the Washington DC semis today, in his opener.
Jannik Sinner, seeded seventh and predicted to be one of Alcaraz’s biggest rivals in the years to come, could meet fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini in the second round, and the struggling Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round. This section also has three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray, who plays Lorenzo Sonego in the first round and could meet Auger-Aliassime in the second.
- Third Quarter: Ruud, Rublev could renew rivalry in Toronto; Tiafoe faces Roanic in opener
The rivalry between third seed Casper Ruud and sixth seed Andrey Rublev could see its eighth chapter in Toronto as both are projected to meet in the quarter-finals next week (Rublev leads their head-to-head 5-2).
Ruud could face the dangerous Czech Jiri Lehecka in the second round and Hamburg champion Alexander Zverev in the third. The German will face the in-form Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who is through to the semis in Washington DC this week.
Rublev could face countryman Aslan Karatsev or American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round and ninth seed Frances Tiafoe in the last 16. The American, seeded ninth, faces local favourite Milos Raonic, back on the tour after a two-year absence, in a marque first round clash.
- Fourth Quarter: Hardcourt specialist Medvedev and top-ranked American Fritz headline this section
Daniil Medvedev is back on his favourite surface and will be hoping to work his way into Grand Slam winning form ahead of the US Open. The Russian will begin against Vasek Posipisil or a qualifier in the second round and has 16th seed Lorenzo Musetti as his projected third round opponent.
On the other side of this section is American No 1 Taylor Fritz, who won in Atlanta last week and is through to the Washington semis as he stands on a seven-match winning streak. Fritz starts against Frenchman Ugo Humbert or Chilean Nicolas Jarry in the second round and potentially meets 111th seed Cameron Norrie in the third round.
Norrie opens against Alex de Minaur, who plays Tsitsipas in the Los Cabos final on Saturday, and could also get Dan Evans, into the Citi Open semis this week, in the second round.
Shaping up to be a tasty week in Toronto…
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 4, 2023
What’s standing out for you in the draw?#NBO23 pic.twitter.com/1vI80RQ3da
