Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune in same half of Canadian Open draw
Aug 05, 2023
Montreal [Canada], August 5 : World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune have been all drawn in the top half of the Canadian Open draw.
Wimbledon winner Alcaraz, who is making his second appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada, could add another chapter to his blossoming rivalry with Rune in the quarter-finals, the same round in which Tsitsipas might encounter seventh seed, Jannik Sinner.
Boasting a season-leading 47-4 match record, the World No. 1 Alcaraz will open against Ben Shelton or countryman Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Daniil Medvedev, who won in Toronto in 2021, is seeded to meet Taylor Fritz for the second time in the last eight in the bottom side of the draw. Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud may square off in the quarters.
Gael Monfils and Christopher Eubanks will light up Toronto with their shotmaking in an explosive first-round match, with the winner advancing to face Tsitsipas in the second round. Tsitsipas, who is playing in Canada for the sixth time, hopes to go one step further than his run to the 2018 final and win his first ATP Masters 1000 title away from Monte-Carlo.
In other opening-round battles, 15th seed Hubert Hurkacz, who was a finalist last year in Canada, will open against Alexander Bublik and 11th seed Cameron Norrie drew World No. 19 Alex de Minaur.
The tenth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will seek for a season turnaround on home turf, where he will face a qualifier before facing Lorenzo Sonego or three-time major champion Andy Murray if he advances.
Milos Raonic, the former World No. 3, will make his first appearance at the Canadian Masters since 2019. Raonic, 32, will face ninth seed Frances Tiafoe in the first round of his third tournament since returning from injury in June.
Potential second-round matches include an all-Italian battle between Sinner and Matteo Berrettini and a third tour-level meeting between Britons Norrie and Daniel Evans.
