Star-studded first round matches at the Rogers Cup presented by National Bank

The Rogers Cup presented by National Bank official draw took place on Friday at the BMW VIP Lounge at IGA Stadium. With six Canadian players currently in the main draw, it promises for some exciting match-ups.

Several storylines promise to be quite interesting, notably the all-Canadian first round battle between Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC) and Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver, BC). This will be the third meeting between the compatriots, with the most recent encounter coming a few weeks ago at Wimbledon. While Pospisil will be competing at the Rogers Cup in Montreal for the sixth time, it will Auger-Aliassime’s first time playing in his home tournament.

Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) will also have a tough first round match, as he is set to take on Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herber. The two have only met once in their careers, with Herbert getting the better of Shapovalov earlier this year at a tournament in Montpellier, France. The young Canadian, who made a splash on the international tennis scene in Montreal two years ago, could potentially face the third seed Dominic Thiem of Austria in the second round and is in the same quarter of the draw as the no. 8 seed Daniil Medvedev.

The No. 1 Canadian Player Milos Raonic (Thornhill, ON) will face American next gen player Taylor Fritz. This will be the first meeting between the two. Raonic’s best result in Montreal came when he reached the final in 2013, finishing runner-up to Rafael Nadal. The Ontario native could potentially face the fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round and a qualifier in the following round.

Other Canadian first round match-ups include Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) who will have to face the eccentric Frenchman Gaël Monfils. Polansky’s best result at the Rogers Cup came in 2017 when he reached the second round. Wild Card Brayden Schnur, who will be taking on a qualifier in the first round, could face the seventh seed Fabio Fognini in the second round.

World no. 2 and the tournament’s top seed, Rafael Nadal, will face the winner of the match between Alex DeMinaur and a qualifier in the second round. He is also in the same quarter of the draw as Fabio Fognini (no. 7). Borna Coric (no. 11) and David Goffin (no. 15). A star-studded first round match that fans will not want to miss is between Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov. Two former Top 5 players, both are looking to make a statement in their returns to the top.

IGA Family Weekend continues on August 3 and 4
Qualifying matches will begin on Saturday as part of the IGA Family Weekend. Until August 5, fans will have free access to the Rogers Cup site where they can see their favourite players in action as well as participate in a variety of scheduled activities including the Ball Hockey Challenge presented by Knapper and The Other Cup – Th Celebrity Cup. The activities will take place on the National Bank Court, at 2 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively.

Click here to view the complete singles main draw.
Click here to view the complete qualifying draw.
Click here to view Saturday’s order of play.