The U.S. Open is less than a month away, and yet there are still two Masters 1000 tournaments to take place before the season’s fourth and final Grand Slam begins. Up first in this furious six-week stretch of tennis is the National Bank Open in Montreal. Jannik Sinner (rest) and Carlos Alcaraz (wrist) are not participating, but the field remains a strong one — and the title being pretty much up for grabs only adds to Montreal’s intrigue.
This event, which alternates between Montreal and Toronto, has a recent history of surprising results. Ben Shelton is the defending champion, while Alexei Popyrin was the winner when the men last played in Montreal (2024). Before Rafael Nadal triumphed in 2023, fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta improbably lifted the trophy in 2022.
Alexander Zverev is the top seed this coming fortnight ahead of Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Shelton, Flavio Cobolli, Taylor Fritz, and Jiri Lehecka.
National Bank Open
Where: Montreal, Canada
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $9,415,724
Points: 1000
Top seed: Alexander Zverev
Defending champion: Ben Shelton
Draw analysis: In the top half of the draw, Shelton will begin his title defense against either Jenson Brooksby or a qualifier. The eighth-ranked American could run into Joao Fonseca in round four and Daniil Medvedev in the quarters. Familiar foes Zverev and Fritz are on a collision course for the last eight after the German ended a seven-match losing streak in the head-to-head series earlier this summer at Wimbledon. Fritz is in an American-heavy section along with Tommy Paul and Learner Tien, both of whom are looking to bounce back from first round losses in Washington, D.C.
On the other side of the bracket, Auger-Aliassime will kick off his title bid in front of the home crowd against either Estoril champ Luca Van Assche or a qualifier. Other seeded players in the fourth-ranked Canadian’s section are Cobolli, Andrey Rublev, Frances Tiafoe, and Brandon Nakashima. De Minaur, who lost to Nakashima in the Washington, D.C. quarterfinals, finds himself in a quarter of the draw with Lehecka, Lorenzo Musetti, and current D.C. semifinalist Rafael Jodar.
Some intriguing first-round matches to note are and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Botic van de Zandschulp, Alex Michelsen vs. Jan-Lennard Struff, Tallon Griekspoor vs. Lorenzo Sonego, and Kamil Majchrzak vs. Gael Monfils.
Quarterfinal picks: Alexander Zverev over Tommy Paul, Jakub Mensik over Joao Fonseca, Rafael Jodar over Arthur Fils, and Andrey Rublev over Frances Tiafoe
Semifinals: Zverev over Mensik and Jodar over Rublev
Final: Zverev over Jodar
who ya got?
mensik
Zverev
Zverev over FAA.
I would back FAA anywhere else but he has the curse
Love the American HC swing, on the other hand it’s telling me summers nearly over
Can’t see past Sinner or Alcaraz if he’s fit to play
wow, seriously, I gotta stop going to this site, zero for 5 today ZERO. mcnally gonna lose & three other picks from here can’t think right now, but all u picked to win and all lost, let me see…its 2000 + 2000 + 4000 +2000
FAA is a good player, just not a great player, false short against the elite, with some players it’s a case of I’ll never be the same as those guys, sad but true