National Bank Open | Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek are the favorites

(Montreal) Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, defending champion and world No. 1, will be the big favorite at the National Bank Open next week in Montreal, while Poland’s Iga Swiatek will be the main headliner of the women’s section in Toronto.

Medvedev will be looking to claim his fifth Masters 1000 title when he plays in Canada for the fifth time in his career.

However, he will have to deal with Rafael Nadal, five-time champion of the tournament and second seed. In 2008, the Spaniard took top honors as the second seed and, 14 years later, he still has the qualities to succeed.

The Top 5 is completed by the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the Masters 1000 in Miami and Madrid this year, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (Monte-Carlo) and Novak Djokovic (Rome).

Félix Auger-Aliassime, who currently occupies the 9^e world rank, will be the 8^e seeded in front of his supporters.

Auger-Aliassime, who won his first ATP title last February, is in excellent shape and should be able to reach several milestones in Montreal. It was in 2019 that he signed his best result at this tournament by reaching the third round.

In Toronto, Swiatek, who has been the most prolific player on the women’s tour this year, will top the singles draw.

In his only appearance at the Canadian tournament in 2019, Swiatek had won over the Toronto crowd. After qualifying, the Pole had reached the round of 16 thanks to impressive victories at the expense of Ajla Tomljanovic and Caroline Wozniakci, champion in 2010.

Anett Kontaveit (2^e), finalist of the WTA Finals last year, Maria Sakkari (3^e), Paula Badosa (4^e) and Ons Jabeur (5^e) will also be there. Laval’s Leylah Annie Fernandez, 19, is the only Canadian among the top seeds and will occupy the 13^e rank.

Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, will look to win his first main draw match at the Canadian tournament.

The draw for both parts of the tournament will take place on Friday.

Seeds are determined based on official ATP and WTA rankings at 1^er August 2022, the top 16 male and female players in this group.