Preview / Schedule 2024 Canadian Open Montreal and Toronto - Wednesday, including Osaka, Badosa, Auger-Aliassime, Pegula, Shapovalov and Korda

Wednesday, 07 August 2024 at 23:34

The tennis season continues in Canada with two sensational Masters events played across two cities. The ATP event is being played in Montreal, with a couple of really interesting matches on this second day, while the women's event is being played in Toronto.

There are some amazing matches, such as the superb clash between Naomi Osaka and Ons Jabeur so let's take a closer look at what tennis fans can expect to see later today.

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WTA Canadian Open Preview Toronto

The second day of the WTA event in Toronto brings us many great matches with many Canadians in action. The schedule will be played out across several courts, with the biggest one getting us underway at 11 local time, which is 17 Central European Time (CET).

The day's first match will feature native player Marina Stakusic, who will face Erika Andreeva, who went through the qualifiers and should be favoured to win that match. Still Stakusic has demonstrated a rreally solid level in the pat and she won'tbe without chances in this one. Overall just a really exciting first match to get us underway.

At the same time on the 2nd biggest court, we'll have a red-hot Paula Badosa hoping to continue her great run in North America against Clara Tauson. She just won her first trophy in a while at the Citi Open and looks primed to win some more matches though with her the chronic back injury will always remain something to be monitored. If she can put that behind her and replicate a level similar to that one in Washington she shouldn't have problems in this one and those that come after.

Paula Badosa

Following the Stakusic and Andreeva match, we'll get the day's highlight in Toronto. It will be the much-anticipated showdown between Naomi Osaka and Ons Jabeur. This match, featuring two formidable players, promises to be a thrilling display of skill and determination and is a must-watch for all tennis enthusiasts.

On one side we have Naomi Osaka who has been playing on a solid level lately albeit wildly inconsistent. On the other side we have Ons Jabeur who has struggle phyically a lot lately so there are many qustions to be answered here. That should make for a very exciting match and it's by far the most interesting match in the whole schedule in Toronto.

Following the Osaka and Jabeur match, the courts will see another Canadian, Leylah Fernandez, take on the seasoned Shuai Zhang. This match, with Fernandez as the favorite, is a must-watch for all tennis enthusiasts, especially those supporting the local talent.

The final match on the main court will be a battle between defending champion Jessica Pegula and the formidable Karolina Pliskova. This promises to be a fascinating matchup between two players known for their powerful play, which is sure to make for an exciting game of tennis. Pegula, in particular, needs some wins after a disappointing performance in Paris, making this match even more compelling.

Jessica Pegula Billy Jean King Cup

There are some other interesting matches on the other courts, with the one between Beatriz Haddad Maia and Marie Bouzkova being the most interesting one. Bouzkova just played in the Citi Open final, so she's certainly a player to watch here. Haddad Maia has kind of fallen off and needs to win with her opponent being a solid matchup. Bouzkova is likely favoured to win that match but she might be fatigued which could give an opponent to the Brazilian. Another interesting match will feature Amanda Anisimova who will face Caroline Dolehide.

It promises to be a very interesting match in Toronto, with the Osaka and Jabeur match being the most interesting one. It will show us exactly where they stand regarding fitness and level.

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ATP Canadian Open Preview Montreal

The men's event in Montreal certainly doesn't lack anything compared to the women's event in Toronto. There are plenty of exciting tennis matches as the event properly kicks off the North American hard court season. On the main court, we'll have four matches, with the first one being between Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik.

The match is set to begin at 11:00 local time, which is the same starting time as the women's event, so 17:00 Central European Time. As we noted above, the first match is between Shelton and Bublik, and that's a crazy interesting matchup.

On one side, we have Bublik, who is always a wild card with his funky style that can deliver plenty of highlights and funny moments. On the other side, we have a ruthless competitor, Ben Shelton, who looked superb at this time last year, and there is nothing to make us believe he won't look amazing once more. It's just an amazing match to start a packed day of tennis in Montreal.

Ben Shelton Acupulco 2024

The second match will feature native player Denis Shapovalov, who will face Brandon Nakashima, a very worthy opponent. The American is a really solid hard-court player who can test the Canadian well. Shapovalov himself has looked pretty decent recently and he's playing on home soil which is an experience he'll cherish quite a bit.

Shapovalov has had some amazing performances on Canadian soil, and Nakashima is not a player who will strike too much fear into you. This should be a really good one. The one after that is similar because we're going to get another native player, Felix Auger-Aliassime, playing as well.

What's even better about this one is that he was actually born and raised in Montreal, so this is literally his home event. There won't be a lack of motivation from him, and he's looked really solid in Paris, so he's arriving in good shape. The opponent is Flavio Cobolli, a pretty good player who is in good form after making the DC Open final and he can certainly hurt you if you give him a chance. Auger-Aliassime will need to be alert in this one because tennis can get out of hand quickly. You don't want to give a young player too much confidence.

The final match on Montreal's biggest court will be between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Gael Monfils. This high-energy matchup between two players known for their entertaining play styles is a fitting end to a day of exciting tennis on the biggest courts. Both need some wins, and that should make this a must-watch.

The second-biggest court will also feature some really interesting matches. First, we'll have Tommy Paul taking on Luciano Darderi. Paul has been playing amazing tennis so far this year, especially in recent weeks and he's slated to keep that going against a player who predominantly plays on clay. Darderi could make this a bit more interesting, but I don't really see him troubling the Americans too much, especially not on North American hard courts. Paul generally has been sensational in Canada beating Carlos Alcaraz twice here so expect some good stuff from him.

The next one will be a French derby in the French-speaking part of Canada. Ugo Humbert is taking on Arthur Fils in a matchup where the latter will have a decent chance despite being lower ranked. Both of these players are capable of playing some really good tennis on the hard courts, but Fils has played a bit better lately, so he's likely to be favored.

After that, we'll see Taylor Fritz taking on Mariano Navone, who is also a clay expert. Much like his compatriot Tommy Paul, Fritz also got a really solid draw, and he's expected to do really well, but we'll see. He has lost a couple of matches he was supposed to win lately, so it's never really a certainty with him. Navone can trouble you if you give him the chance.

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The final match on that second biggest court is between Sebastian Korda, who had just won the Citi Open in Washington and Canadian veteran Vasek Pospisil. The DC Open is Korda's biggest trophy so far in his career, and he's feeling really good about himself right now. Vasek Pospisil might be a tricky player in general, but the Canadian is far removed from his best, and Korda is the overwhelming favorite to win this one.

More matches will be played on the outer courts, but for the most part, none of them stand don't really stand out in any way. The best match on paper is between Jordan Thompson and Jack Draper. Thompson has played pretty well this year while his opponent Jack Draper has looked pretty sharp at times as well. He had a really good showing here two years ago and now he's back on the same court so maybe he can find some magic again.

That's the short overview of all the most notable matches from the Canadian Open's second day which will be played later today in Montreal and Toronto. It promises to be an exciting day of tennis and it's only going to get better in the coming days as we get better and better matchups.