Sinner says he is ‘ready for every challenge’, faces tricky Montreal draw
On Saturday, Jannik Sinner, the top seed, trains in Montreal.
Jannik Sinner, the top seed at the National Bank Open, has a difficult draw. The ATP Masters 1000 event that Rogers won in Toronto the previous year is being presented. This year, the main draw action starts on Tuesday at the tournament, which is being held in Montreal.
In the opening round, the top player in the PIF ATP Rankings will take either Pedro Martinez of Spain or a qualifier. But Alejandro Tabilo, a Chilean who resides in Canada, is the 15th seed and a threat in the third round. The leftist starts his matchup with Frances Tiafoe, an American.
Fifth seed Andrei Rublev is also in Sinner’s quarter. Daniil Medvedev, the former world number one, is in his own half of the draw. Sinner was ranked eighth in the world and had not yet claimed a Masters 1000 championship when he prevailed in Canada a year prior. The Italian claimed that not much has changed despite his meteoric rise to the top of the men’s tennis world.
Simply said, the number is different. At the draw ceremony, Sinner stated, “My staff and I strive to make the process and our daily routine as efficient as possible while also trying to be prepared for any obstacle that may arise. “I’m thrilled to be back here. It all began with the Wimbledon semifinals of the previous year, and I came here to win my first Masters event. I’ve been quite consistent throughout the past year, and we will attempt to continue that in the upcoming months as well.
The number one seed will be in Montreal for the second time this round. He was defeated by eventual champion Pablo Carreno Busta in the third round of the fight two years ago.
“I’m thrilled to be back in this place. Two years ago, I wasn’t the best player, so maybe I can improve a little bit. Well, we’ll see,” Sinner remarked. “I think there’s a lot of similarities between the courts here and in Toronto, though maybe there’s a little bit more flying here. However, I’m just glad to be here since there is usually such a great vibe.
Grigor Dimitrov, the winner of the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, was also present at the draw ceremony. The seventh seed’s first opponent is a qualifier.
Only 340 points separate the Bulgarian and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who presently occupy the eighth and last qualifying spot for the season finale, in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
Based on the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, the 33-year-old has a 32-11 record this season and has won five matches against Top 10 players.
“I never run from those situations. I don’t want to stop here, but I enjoy how I’ve been competing the entire year and I’ve had some excellent performances,” Dimitrov remarked. “I want to make the most of every opportunity I have to play on the court. I’d like to keep going because this year has been really meaningful for me in a lot of ways.
The second seedIn the second round, Alexander Zverev will take on either British lefty Jack Draper or in-form Australian Jordan Thompson.
In his opening round, third seed Medvedev will face either Roman Safiullin or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, his doubles partner. Medvedev made it to his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal five years ago.
The number thirteen seed, Holger Rune, will provide a tough first test for hometown hero and former world number three Marino. Both men might be Zverev’s third-round opponents.
The 14th seed, Felix Auger-Aliassime, who placed third in the Olympic bronze medal match in Paris, will play Italian Flavio Cobolli in the opening round.
