National Bank Open | Félix Auger-Aliassime is the only Canadian favored by the draw

Félix Auger-Alissiame will be able to take advantage of an advantageous draw at the National Bank Open in Montreal, unlike his other compatriots participating in the tournament.

Nicholas Richard
The Press

Posted as the sixth seed, the Quebecer benefits from a bye in the first round, as is the case for the other seeded players in the table. Where luck struck for the athlete, who will turn 22 on Monday, was in the second round, when he will face a player from the qualifiers. A player usually of less talent and who will have already played matches to qualify.

Auger-Aliassime will have an excellent chance of reaching the semi-finals, since in his portion of the table, if the logic is respected, he will face the Briton Cameron Smith, seeded ninth. The Quebecer won the four duels between the two. Then he could run into Roberto Bautista Agut. Again, FAA have an advantageous history against him, as he has won three of the four games played against the Spaniard. His main rival to reach the semi-final is Casper Ruud, seeded fourth. However, the hard surface is not the surface on which the Norwegian, finalist at the last Roland-Garros tournament, is the most comfortable, unlike Auger-Aliassime.

Besides Ruud, the only player better ranked than FAA at the top of the table is Daniil Medvedev, world No. 1 racket. Thus, if the logic is respected, the two players who had faced each other in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open could cross swords again, this time in front of Montreal fans.

Difficult mission for Galarneau, Pospisil and Shapovalov

The other compatriots of Félix Auger-Aliassime did not benefit from the same luck. Denis Shapovalov and Alexis Galarneau also find themselves at the top of the table.

Shapovalov will have the most complicated duel. He will face Alex de Minaur in the first round. The Australian, positioned one rank above the Canadian in the ATP rankings, is on the rise. He also won the Atlanta tournament less than a week ago. For his part, Shapovalov has been experiencing more difficult times for a year, he who is struggling to regain his former rhythm.

If he wins, Shapovalov will face the winner of the duel between Grigor Dimitrov (16) and Quebecer Alexis Galarneau. At 23, Galarneau has earned a bye to the main draw and getting into the game won’t be easy. The Laval resident has just reached the final of the Challenger tournament in Winnipeg.

In the last portion of the bottom of the table, Vasek Pospisil also fell badly. 141^e in the ATP rankings, the Canadian will face Tommy Paul, ranked at 34^e rank. The American won the only clash between the two.

If he wins, it will be a colossal task in the second round against young sensation Carlos Alcaraz, the second seed and winner of four titles since the start of the season.

At the bottom of the table, if the logic is respected, Carlos Alcaraz will face Andrey Rublev (5) in the quarter-finals, while Jannik Sinner (7) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) will cross swords.

Interesting matches

Among the matches to watch, the finalist of the last Wimbledon tournament, Nick Kyrgios, will face Sebastian Baez in the first round. If he wins, he will have a date with Medvedev and this match could spark some sparks. This might be the biggest surprise of the tournament, because Kyrgios has proven in the past that he is capable of knocking down players of the Russian’s caliber.

The clash between the next generation of American tennis, Taylor Fritz, winner of the Indian Wells tournament in the spring, and veteran Andy Murray, three-time OBN winner, will be hotly contested. Ditto for the duel between Reilly Opelka (14) and Gaël Monfils, which will undoubtedly be spectacular.

Missing marks

Over the past two days, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, two of the greatest champions in history, have withdrawn from the tournament.

The draw is open for all the top seeds and the winner is very likely to be one of the future stars of the circuit. Indeed, the oldest of the eight favorites is the defending champion, Danill Medvedev, who is 26 years old.