It’s been 728 days since we had live professional tennis at Canada’s home tournaments.
After a two-year wait, world class tennis will return to Toronto and Montreal at the newly branded National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
While strict COVID-19 protocols will be in place, thousands of fans are expected be on hand for both tournaments.
Here are some exciting storylines to follow from the 140th edition of the National Bank Open and Omnium Banque Nationale this week.
Bianca seeks a title defence in Montreal
A lot can change in two years’ time.
In 2019, Mississauga native Bianca Andreescu produced the greatest singles season in Canadian tennis history.
She won her first premier mandatory WTA title at Indian Wells in March, her home tournament at Rogers Cup, and then became the first Grand Slam singles champion in Canadian tennis history when she captured the U.S. Open, defeating Serena Williams in the final. She’d close the season fourth in the world.
Since the end of that year, it’s been a challenging run of physical setbacks, including a long-lasting knee injury, a foot issue, and even a bout of coronavirus.
For all the success that came that season, Andreescu is eager to look forward.
“2019, I want to put that in the past,” Andreescu said in her pre-tournament press conference. “I was the up and comer. Now I’m seeded in tournaments. I have titles that I’ve won. I’m defending them now.”
She arrives at the grounds of Jarry Park in Montreal this year with new coach Sven Groenefeld, who’s joined for a trial run.
Groenefeld, a former Dutch pro tennis player, has an exceptional resume as a coach, working with numerous Grand Slam champions including Monica Seles, Caroline Wozniacki, and Maria Sharapova to name a few.
Andreescu will be well rested, having last played at Wimbledon in July.
She’s seeded second at the tournament and could potentially face fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez in her opening match.
Who’s ready for the @OBNmontreal ?!? pic.twitter.com/aXSjToTWWT
— Bianca (@Bandreescu_) August 6, 2021
Can Denis soar in Toronto?
Denis Shapovalov will have fond memories of his first ATP event in Toronto.
As a wide-eyed 17-year-old, he was awarded a wild-card to the Rogers Cup in 2016 and stunned then-world No. 19 Nick Kyrgios in three sets to pick up his first ever tour-level win.
A year later, he wowed the crowds in Montreal, shocking Rafael Nadal en route to a surprise semi-finals berth at the event.
Now in 2021, 22-year-old Shapovalov has staked himself as one of the ATP’s premiere threats, ranked 10th in the world.
He’s also coming off his best-ever performance at a major.
He advanced to the semifinals of Wimbledon before falling in a tightly contested three set loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
A backhand we can certainly get used to watching#Wimbledon | @denis_shapo pic.twitter.com/DcH656XgG2
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 9, 2021
The performance on grass courts has Shapovalov hungry for more.
“I feel like I’m able to compete with anyone”, Shapovalov said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I feel like I’m becoming a really big threat.”
A big summer could be in store.
Nadal returns to his hard courts of choice
Rafael Nadal is unquestionably the greatest clay court player to ever live, notching a record 62 titles on the surface and an immense 14 French Open crowns.
Hard-court success, though, has also been a standout feature for the 20-time slam champion, where he has amassed 22 ATP titles on the faster surface.
His best hard-court tournament historically has been Canada.
Nadal arrives at the National Bank Open as a five-time winner and two-time defending champion, having hoisted titles in 2018 in Toronto and 2019 in Montreal.
Despite the past success. there are question marks surrounding his health and form.
Following a gruelling clay season and a semifinals loss to Novak Djokovic at the French Open, Nadal skipped both Wimbledon and the Olympics to rest his body, and acknowledged he’s been dealing with an ailing foot.
He fell in the round of 16 to South African Lloyd Harris last week at the Citi Open in Washington so is still searching for his peak game.
He could be tested early here, with a potential for a rematch with Harris in his opening match, and a section of the draw that features lightning rod Nick Kyrgios, Spanish brick-wall Roberto Bautista Agut, and world no. 13 Diego Schwartzman.
Greek standout and French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas lines up as a potential semi-final.
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after winning the final Godo tennis tournament against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, April 25, 2021. Nadal won by 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 (Joan Monfort/AP)
The summer of Daniil?
Russian Daniil Medvedev kicks off his hard-court campaign as the top seed in Toronto and it’s well deserved. The world No. 2 has hoisted a pair of ATP titles this season and reached the finals in Australia to open the year.
The summer hard-court swing should bring about fond memories for Medvedev, who produced a sensational stretch of tennis in North America in 2019, with a run to four consecutive tournament finals.
He first lost to Kyrgios in the finals of Washington, then to Nadal in Montreal before he captured his first career Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati and, at last, reached his maiden Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open.
Standing a lanky, rail-thin six-foot-six, Medvedev is one of the best lateral movers in the sport with a dynamic and creative baseline game.
He has a promising road to the semifinals, where he could lineup to face fellow Russian Andrey Rublev or Shapovalov.
WTA heavy hitters prepare to make noise
A stacked field of women’s players in Montreal this week are highlighted by some of the heaviest, most powerful ball strikers in the game.
Look no further than the top seed: Aryna Sabalenka.
The Belarusian, fittingly nicknamed ‘the Tiger,’ has an intensity and demeanour that can overwhelm most all opponents.
Sabalenka has been collecting titles at a rapid pace the past few seasons, with eight WTA crowns since January of 2019.
She’s also coming off a run to the semifinals at Wimbledon.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. (Rick Rycroft / AP)
World No. 5 Elina Svitolina made the trip over from Tokyo, after winning a bronze at the Olympics, and her all court game suits the courts beautifully in Montreal. She won the Rogers Cup in 2017.
‘Ace Queen’ Karolina Pliskova holds the fourth seed at Omnium Banque Nationale and, after relatively quiet results earlier in the season, she stormed to the Wimbledon final before losing to world No. 1 Ash Barty.
Her serve-plus-forehand combo is one of the deadliest in the sport.
Spain’s Garbine Muguruza is seeded fifth in the field, a two-time Grand Slam champion, and is 30-11 on the season.
Another two-time Slam winner will also make her return to Montreal, as fan favourite Simona Halep competes in the field.
Halep has won two titles in Canada (2016 and 2018) – and she’s returning to competition following a lengthy calf injury that kept her out of the French Open and Wimbledon.
Other Canadians to keep an eye on
Felix Auger-Aliassime is seeded ninth in the field, and just celebrated his 21st birthday. The young talent possesses one of the most physical games on tour with elite movement and ball striking.
Last month he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for the first time in his career. He’ll get a first round bye here.
Veteran Vasek Pospisil is back at the National Bank Open, an event he’s visited for over a decade. The 31-year-old is 61st in the ATP rankings and plays his first tournament of the summer hard court season. He’ll open his campaign against a qualifier, and if victorious, could face 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Pospisil outlasted the Spaniard in a five-set thriller last year at the U.S. Open.
In the women’s field, Montreal’s Leylah Fernandez plays a qualifier in her opening match. The 18-year-old returns after her Olympic debut in Tokyo, where she reached the second round with a three-set win over Dayana Yastremska.
Toronto native Rebecca Marino lines up to face hard-hitting American Madison Keys in a heavy-weight Round 1 encounter.
Both women have punishing baseline groundstrokes and a big weapon on serve.
Canadian Carol Zhao meets 47th ranked Spanish player, Sara Sorribes Tormo. Zhao returned from injury this season and has made two ITF finals.
