Tallon Griekspoor and Alex de Minaur will be making quick turnarounds after finishing runner-up at their respective tournaments last week. Griekspoor opens in Toronto against Alexander Zverev on Tuesday, while De Minaur faces Cameron Norrie.
(13) Alexander Zverev vs. Tallon Griekspoor
Zverev and Griekspoor will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round one of the National Bank Open on Tuesday. They have split their two previous encounters; Zverev prevailed 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 two years ago at Wimbledon before Griekspoor got the job done in front of the home crowd earlier this season on the hard courts of Rotterdam via a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision.
The Dutchman has little rest heading into this one, as he finished runner-up to Dan Evans in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. Thus continued the best year of Griekspoor’s career, in which a 27-13 record has him up to No. 26 in the world. Zverev is also in great form, with a 33-18 mark for his 2023 campaign that has propelled him back to 16th in the rankings. The German won his most recent event in Hamburg two weeks ago, so he is rolling into the hard-court swing with confidence. Griekspoor has to be fatigued, and Zverev is certainly playing well enough to take advantage.
Pick: Zverev in 2
Alex de Minaur vs. (11) Cameron Norrie
De Minaur will also be getting right back in action after reaching last week’s Los Cabos final, which he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4. On the bright side for De Minaur, that championship match was played on Saturday so he can enjoy an extra day of rest. This is already the 18th-ranked Australian’s third hard-court tournament of the summer, as he also advanced to the quarterfinals in Atlanta.
Up first for De Minaur on Tuesday is Norrie. They have also faced each other on two previous occasions and the head-to-head series is tied up at one win apiece (De Minaur won 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 on the clay courts of Barcelona in 2022; Norrie prevailed 6-3, 6-3 at the United Cup to begin this season). Norrie was hot in the early months of 2023 but has cooled off of late, with a quarterfinal exit at Queen’s Club and second-round ousters at Wimbledon and in Los Cabos. De Minaur, on the other hand, is rolling along nicely and should have the edge in this matchup.
Pick: De Minaur in 2
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Zverev a dark horse for the title