The Montreal Masters will begin with a bang on Monday, as there are plenty of blockbuster first-round matchups on offer. Taylor Fritz is facing Andy Murray, while an all-unseeded showdown pits Denis Shapovalov against Alex de Minaur.
(WC) Andy Murray vs. (10) Taylor Fritz
The first-ever meeting between Fritz and Murray could be a “last man standing” kind of situation. Both players have been dealing with various physical issues and neither one appears to be heading into the National Bank Open anywhere close to 100 percent. When healthy, Fritz has been one of the best players on tour this season. The 13th-ranked American won the Indian Wells Masters and made a run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals (lost to Rafael Nadal in five sets).
Fritz retired from his Washington, D.C. third-round match against Dan Evans last week, while Murray struggled physically in a first-round loss to Mikael Ymer. That ended a streak of 12 consecutive tournaments (one Challenger included) in which the 48th-ranked Scot won at least one match. Although Murray is in relatively resurgent form this year, his body simply can’t be trusted these days. Fritz has to be considered the favorite, but just about anything could happen considering the variables in play.
Pick: Fritz in 2
Denis Shapovalov vs. Alex de Minaur
Will home-court advantage in Canada be enough to save Shapovalov? At this point, probably not. The 23-year-old is just 17-16 for the season and has plunged outside the top 20 of the rankings (currently 22nd). Shapovalov has been even worse of late, with a 1-8 record since beating an injured Nadal at the Rome Masters.
Adding insult to injury, the left-hander has to face De Minaur on Monday. An opponent of De Minaur’s defensive capability is not the kind of player you want to see on the other side of the net when you are struggling to put balls in the court. Moreover, the 23rd-ranked Aussie is in strong form. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and then captured a second Atlanta title. Count on De Minaur taking the crowd out of this match right from the start and winning with relative ease.
Pick: De Minaur in 2
WWW?
Fritz in 3; Demon in 3.