.The Olympics are actually still taking place (Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are contesting in the guys's songs gold-medal suit on Sunday), yet the tennis scenic tour is losing no time proceeding to the following celebration. Instantly on the heels of the Olympics as well as the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. is the National Bank Open. It's a 1000-point tournament-- for the guys in Montreal and also for the women in Toronto.Needless to state, there will certainly be a lot of tired physical bodies in Montreal. That won't be the case for planet No. 1 Jannik Criminal, given that he was actually forced out of the Olympics by tonsillitis. As opposed to making all type of surface shifts (clay-based to yard to clay-based and also currently to difficult courts), Evildoer has actually been actually resting up for the hard-court summer. In fact, the Italian-- who has certainly not participated in since Wimbledon-- has actually actually resided in Montreal for an entire week.Sinner is the No. 1 seed this coming week as well as is actually a specifically clear title favored because each Djokovic and also Alcaraz have actually predictably taken out from the event. Certainly, it is actually certainly not like Criminal is going to be without competitors. Other front runners feature Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, and also Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Adhering to a bye, Criminal might satisfy Frances Tiafoe in the 3rd sphere, Rublev or Tommy Paul in the quarters, and also Medvedev or Tsitsipas in the SFs. Tsitsipas will likely run into Alex Michelsen in the last 32 and also Arthur Fils in the final 16, while Medvedev potentially opens with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and also Tiafoe vs. Alejandro Tabilo is a first-round match.The bottom half of the brace is actually home to a handful of appealing first-round showdowns: Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Flavio Cobolli, Ben Shelton vs. Alexander Bublik, Jack Draper vs. Jordan Thompson, and also Holger Rune vs. Milos Raonic.If the seeds uphold develop, quarterfinal matchups will be Hubert Hurkacz vs. Grigor Dimitrov, Sinner vs. Rublev, Medvedev vs. Tsitsipas, and also Zverev vs. Ruud.Ricky adds to 10sballs. com as well as also maintains his very own tennis web site, The Grandstand. You may follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.