Medvedev & Kyrgios On Montreal Collision Course
The National Bank Open Presented by Rogers singles draw was released on Friday, with a potential second-round showdown between World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios among the surprises.
Kyrgios holds a 2-1 edge in the pair's ATP Head2Head, though Medvedev was victorious in their Australian Open meeting earlier this year. The Aussie will need to get past Sebastian Baez to set up a rematch, with Medvedev earning a bye as the Montreal top seed. Eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz is a potential quarter-final opponent for either man, while Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime headline the second quarter.
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Carlos Alcaraz, seeking his third ATP Masters 1000 title, occupies the draw's bottom line as the second seed. He could meet fifth seed Andrey Rublev for the first time in the quarter-finals. The 19-year-old is making his Montreal debut after claiming his first two Masters 1000s trophies in Miami and Madrid this year.
"At the moment everything is going well," he said at the draw ceremony. "I like the weather. I like the court. At the moment I'm feeling great.
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In the draw's third quarter, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner are in line for a sixth ATP Head2Head meeting, should the seeds hold.
"I see my chances [as] pretty good this year," the Greek said at the draw ceremony. "I'm going to have to stick to what I do best. I work hard on the court. I'm hoping for good success in Montreal because I like this place. It has a very very good culture. The people here they have a very good sports culture, which I like a lot."
The third seed is seeking his first win at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal. In two appearances at the tournament's Toronto venue, he has reached a final (2018) and a semi-final (2021).
Playing in his first event since Wimbledon, Tsitsipas said the courts felt slower than he expected, which is to his liking. Alcaraz, coming off of two clay-court final runs in Hamburg and Umag, felt the opposite: "I came here and the first feeling that I had was 'too fast for me,'" he said with a laugh.
The draw also served up a number of first-round highlights, including Taylor Fritz vs. Andy Murray, Denis Shapovalov vs. Alex de Minaur, Gael Monfils vs. Reilly Opelka and Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Matteo Berrettini.
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