Preview ATP Canadian Open 2024 as Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev headline US Open pre-cursor

With the Olympics concluding, we're returning to regular scheduling, and the Canadian Open (National Bank Open or Omnium Banque Nationale) is upon us between August 6-12. Our preview takes a look at this event, which will feature some notable absences but also the return of world number one Jannik Sinner.

The Olympic Games concluded with the men's final on Sunday, August 4th, and one day later, we'll have the start of the Canadian Open, one of the two ATP 1000 Masters events ahead of the US Open. The Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open run back-to-back, but due to the proximity of this first one to the Olympic Games we're not going to have the full draw as there will be some notable absences.

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Even with that, the event promises to be a really strong one as players converge on Montreal to battle it out for one of the biggest trophies you can win during the year. Let's preview this year's Canadian Open and see what might happen.

Absences

We can't start the preview without noting the players who won't be competing at this event and would have certainly been in contention to do really well. At the top of the list is the duo who will battle it out in the Olympic final: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Those two are some of the best players we have on Tour, and neither will play in Montreal. They won't play because it doesn't make sense for them to play after their deep run at the Olympics.Alc

Carlos Alcaraz is one of the main protagonists involved over the next week.

Both of them played really well in Paris, making the final, and rushing to play in Montreal makes no sense, so both opted out a while ago in anticipation of a great run in Paris. Both would have obviously been in contention to do well at the event even though Alcaraz hasn't had the best time in Canada so far in his career, and Djokovic hasn't played at the event in many years. Perhaps that's what made the decision pretty easy for both of them.

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Olympians in the Draw

Contrary to those two who are absent from the draw, we have a couple of players who were in Paris fairly recently and will still play in Canada. There are quite a few of them, such as Tommy Paul, Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and others. All of these players were in Paris just a few days ago but will also play in Montreal. It's not an ideal situation for any of them because the quick turnaround and the surface change will certainly impact them.

Still, they're tennis players and are somewhat used to that kind of thing. If any athlete can handle such a quick turnaround, it's tennis players. Some players like Medvedev, Zverev, and Tsitsipas will have first-round BYEs, so they're not going to play on day one, giving them an extra day of rest. Others like Tommy Paul don't have that luxury, but with the way he's been playing right now, he probably won't mind playing some more tennis.

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The return of the number one

The Canadian Open marks the return of the reigning world number one, Jannik Sinner, to the tennis court. The Italian, who last played at Wimbledon where he faced physical challenges against Daniil Medvedev, is now fully recovered and ready to compete. His absence from the Olympics was a tough blow, but his return to the top seed position at the Canadian Open is a testament to his resilience and determination.

It was a tough pill to swallow, but Sinner had to prioritise health, so he had to take some time off. Well, he's going ot be back in Montreal, and as the top seed, he'll be expected to finish well above anyone else. After all, the two main contenders, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, won't be playing at the event. Whether he actually produces a high level and goes all the way remains to be seen, but just him playing means that he's likely fully healthy again, which is great news.

Jannik Sinner will return to action next week.

The draw was pretty good for him, as it gave him a first-round BYE. After that, he'll likely face Pedro Martinez, which should be a no-contest. The highest seeds in his quarter are Alejandro Tabilo and Frances Tiafoe, and neither of those players is someone you expect to give Sinner too many problems on hard courts. The Italian also played really well at this time of the year, which is another thing he can rely upon.

Other contenders

We've mentioned some of the names that were in Paris and will be in Canada in the context of returning from the Olympics and how difficult that will be. Still, we have to also mention them in the context of possibly challenging for the trophy. It won't be easy, but Sinner is just getting back to tennis. He's going to be vulnerable. Just because he might be the best player in the draw doesn't mean he's going to win it all, so we have to mention some other players.

Alexander Zverev stands out because he's had one of the earlier exits from the event, and he generally likes these courts in North America. He's also been playing on a really high level recently, and his serve is always a devastating weapon on hard courts. One thing that should give people pause with Zverev is his admission that he felt rather terrible physically during his stay in Paris.

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After his exit in Paris, he admitted that he would fly back to Germany to do some tests to see what's going on. He's in the draw, though, so it seems like he will play at the event. However, his fatigue admission and testing do create a bit of doubt whether he'll truly be competitive. The draw didn't help him too much, as he'll face either Jack Draper or Jordan Thompson in the second round, which is a super tough matchup.

Another player we have to mention among our favourites is Tommy Paul. Now you might think to yourself that there are bigger names in the draw than him, and that's true, but most of them haven't played on the level of Paul in recent weeks. He's been basically Top 5 in the past month across several surfaces, and there is no reason to doubt that it will fall off on hard courts. It's his best surface, and he's had some notable wins in Canada before, including two wins over Carlos Alcaraz.

He enjoys these courts as they allow him to play aggressive and attacking tennis, his calling card. Similar ot Zverev, his fatigue will have to be monitored as he played lots of matches in Paris thanks to a deep finish in the doubles with Taylor Fritz, especially as he has no bye and might face Shapovalov in the 2nd round.

Another player who could surprise from the shadows is Hubert Hurkacz, who is always a problem on courts like these. His superb serve and overall risk-averse playstyle create many problems for many players who try to hit through him. It's not easy to do as he's very solid across the board and with some notable performances in North America. He also didn't play in Paris, which means he's going to be well-prepared and well-rested for this event, which could create some trouble for the rest of the field.

Daniil Medvedev must also be mentioned because he's the hard-court specialist who sneakily has superb endurance. The Russian likely won't be too fatigued from Paris because he didn't remain there long in the draw, and even if he did, he just can play tennis for hours. Expect a really motivated Medvedev to shine once he finally returns to speedy hard courts, which is what he loves most. He does have a tricky draw with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Roman Safiullin waiting in the 2nd round.

Some other names to keep an eye on are certainly Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev who are very solid players who have had solid outings at these events. None of them is likely to win the event, but they could insert themselves in the final few rounds if they really play well. Tsitsipas picked up some nice wins in Paris, which should boost his confidence, while Rublev played in Washington last week, making the transition to Montreal quite easy for him.

Overall, it promises to be a really great event, which is a bit incomplete without Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, but those that will play will certainly give the fans something to see. We have plenty of talent there and should expect some really good tennis with the return of Sinner and some of these players who will want to right the wrong of the Olympic Games. Stick with us for daily coverage because we’re going to be following it closely, as we expect lots of great matches starting tomorrow, Monday 5th, 2024, when the event officially kicks off.