Auger-Aliassime to face qualifier, Raonic draws Tiafoe in 1st round of National Bank Open
Andreescu, Fernandez, Marino will also play qualifiers on women's side in Montreal
A field stacked with most of the ATP Tour's top young stars — anchored by top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz — has National Bank Open tournament director Karl Hale feeling bullish about the 2023 edition of the event in Toronto.
"It's just a blockbuster draw with some great, great matches," Hale said Friday after the matchups were finalized.
The so-called Big Three were mainstays at this Masters 1000 Series competition for years. But Roger Federer has retired, Rafael Nadal is injured and Novak Djokovic is out due to fatigue.
That gives Alcaraz — who recently outlasted Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title — as the main headliner in a 56-man draw that includes fellow youngsters Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Italy's Jannik Sinner, Denmark's Holger Rune and Norway's Casper Ruud.
Nine of the top 10 players in the ATP Tour world rankings are entered in the $7.62-million US tournament.
Auger-Aliassime, the world No. 12, is the highest-seeded Canadian at No. 10. He'll play a qualifier in his opening match at Sobeys Stadium.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime ousted by Watanuki at Citi Open:
A knee injury forced Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., to withdraw earlier in the week but there are four Canadian wild-card entries in the field. One of those spots went to local favourite Milos Raonic of nearby Thornhill, Ont.
Raonic, who's playing his third tournament since returning from an extended injury absence, will open against ninth-seeded American Frances Tiafoe.
Montreal's Gabriel Diallo will open against Britain's Daniel Evans and Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., will meet a qualifier. Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., will take on Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
Sinner, who attended the draw with Galarneau at a downtown hotel, recently trained with Raonic in preparation for the tournament.
"He's very dangerous on these hard courts," Sinner said of the 32-year-old Canadian. "The ball is bouncing quite high so it's tough to play against him. The crowd can make a lot happen, especially in the first round. It's never easy."
WATCH | Raonic wins 1st match back:
The top eight seeds received first-round byes. Alcaraz could meet Rune in the quarterfinals and Sinner could face Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the same round.
The qualifying draw is set to begin Saturday morning. Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont., is one of five Canadians entered in the 28-player field.
Eight qualifier spots will be available in the main draw.
Members of the Canadian team that won the 2022 Davis Cup will be feted on centre court in an opening night ceremony on Monday.
Play continues through Aug. 13.
Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta topped Poland's Hubert Hurkacz in last year's final in Montreal. The National Bank Open women's event will be played this year at IGA Stadium in Montreal.
Vondrousova feeling pressure in Montreal
Marketa Vondrousova can feel the pressure rising after winning Wimbledon three weeks ago.
Vondrousova, a 24-year-old from the Czech Republic, plays her first tournament since claiming her first Grand Slam title next week at the National Bank Open in Montreal, which runs through next Sunday.
The expectations heading into this tournament compared to her last aren't quite the same.
"The expectations are high now from everyone," she said Friday at a restaurant in Montreal for the National Bank Open women's singles tournament draw. "I feel like everybody's gonna expect so much now, but I feel like every match is very tough and yeah, we'll see how it goes.
"I'm gonna be the target now."
WATCH | Vondrousova defeats Jabeur in Wimbledon final:
Vondrousova opens the tournament with a first-round match against Mayar Sherif of Egypt at IGA Stadium.
She was the lowest-ranked player to win at the All England Club, beating No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula and Ukraine's Elina Svitolina en route to the final, where she beat No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur in straight sets to claim the title.
After having surgery on her left wrist last year, Vondrousova even surprised herself by going on such a run, especially on a grass surface she hadn't had much prior success on.
Despite the injury, Vondrousova, also a French Open finalist in 2019, has been in good form since the beginning of the year with a 29-10 singles record.
She says part of the reason for her success was the lack of expectations.
"It's always tough to come back and you never know if you're gonna play on that level again," she said.
As a ninth seed next week, it's a different story.
Canadians Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Vancouver's Rebecca Marino got some good fortune in the draw and will open play next week against qualifiers.
Andreescu is Canada's top-ranked player in the tournament as the world No. 44. That number, however, isn't one the 2019 U.S. Open champion is satisfied with.
Andreescu, who won the tournament in Toronto in 2019, would play No. 7 seed Petra Kvitova in the next round if she wins her first match on Tuesday night.
Fernandez, ranked 88th in the WTA, could play No. 11 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil in the next round or Spain's Paula Badosa.
The 90th-ranked Marino's next opponent would be sixth-seed American Coco Gauff.
Marino says getting to play a qualifier in the opening round isn't necessarily an advantage.
"Sometimes it's difficult because the qualifier has already played some matches, they've already gotten a feel for the court," the 32-year-old said. "But for me, no matter who it is I have to beat them."
Six more Canadians, including Montreal's Eugenie Bouchard, will have a chance to make the main draw through qualification, which begins Saturday.
Big names
The tournament will have its fair share of big names, with 19 of the top 20 WTA players participating after Jabeur pulled out due to injury.
Top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland, who won the French Open this year, and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus are among eight players receiving a bye to the second round.
Valerie Tetreault, working her first year as tournament director, says the tournament turnout is a testament to National Bank Open's reputation in Montreal, especially since the event isn't mandatory on the WTA circuit until next year.
"The players had to choose Montreal this year, which makes us even more proud of the lineup," she said. "We owe that to reputation ... there's always a lot of people in the stands here."
The main draw begins on Monday.
