In Toronto, Wimbledon Champion Novak Djokovic plays his first singles match since winning his 13th Major, against the player who out Djokovic’d him earlier this year in Melbourne, Hyeon Chung. We’ll also have 19-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov in his return to the tournament where he made a name for himself just one year ago. And speaking of young Canadians, 17-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime has caught the eye of many as a potential future and champion, and this will be his Rogers Cup debut.
In Montreal, Wimbledon Semifinalist Jelena Ostapenko will face a Wimbledon semifinalist of a year ago, Johanna Konta. Two of the hottest players on tour, Daria Kasatkina and Maria Sakkari, will also do battle. And we’ll see if Victoria Azarenka has recovered from the knee injury that forced her to retire last week in San Jose, as she faces a stern opening round test in Kiki Mladenovic.
Nick Kyrgios vs. Stan Wawrinka
This is a rematch from a heated affair at the Rogers Cup in 2015. Kyrgios won that match after Wawrinka retired in the third set, but the result is not what grabbed the headlines. Courtside microphones picked up Kyrgios making derogatory comments regarding Wawrinka’s girlfriend, Donna Vekic. I’m confident Stan would like to avenge that loss at this year’s Rogers Cup. They’ve split their two meetings since that incident, and are 2-2 lifetime against each other. The biggest question mark here is who will be the healthier of the two. Stan of course is still not back to 100% after a season-ending knee surgery from a year ago, while the oft-injured Kyrgios pulled out of the Citi Open last week due to a hip injury. Considering their history, as well as Nick’s bad hip, I expect Stan to pull this one out.
Petra Kvitova vs. Anett Kontaveit
These two have played three times, all in the past year, and all three matches have been tight. Kvitova prevailed in Cincinnati last year as well as earlier this year in Madrid, but Kontaveit won two tiebreaks to upset Kvitova at Roland Garros. It’s been a stellar 2018 for Kvitova, with 38 match wins and five titles through the first six months. But we also know how up-and-down Petra’s form can be from week-to-week, and she’s looked a bit tired in a few of her recent tournaments after so much match play this year. At Wimbledon, the two-champion was upset in the first round by Aliaksandra Sasnovich, losing the third set 6-0. This will be Kvitova’s first match since that surprising loss, against an opponent she lost to the last time they played. However, a month away from competitive tennis should have given Petra some much-needed rest. She should be able to dictate play on the hard court in Montreal. I would be surprised to see Kvitova lose to Kontaveit again here today.
