The hard court season is in full swing, with the final Grand Slam of the year – the US Open – coming up later this month. But before flocking to Flushing Meadows, some of the top players on the ATP Tour will first head to Montreal to take part in the National Bank Open, which will begin next week.
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev is the tournament’s top seed and will be out to successfully defend his title. Rafael Nadal could be his main challenger, with the Spaniard expected to make his comeback after his disappointing withdrawal from Wimbledon due to injury.
However, Novak Djokovic looks set to miss out due to his unvaccinated status, while World No. 2 Alexander Zverev is still not ready to return from his ankle injury.
So read on below as SBOTOP shares the latest National Bank Open 2022 news.
Daniil Medvedev getting ready for title defence
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev has been announced as the top seed in this year’s National Bank Open. The 26-year-old won the tournament in Toronto last year as he beat American Reilly Opelka in straight sets.
Medvedev is currently taking part in the Los Cabos Open, his first tournament since the Mallorca Championships in June. He scored a routine 6-4 6-3 win over Rinky Hijikata in his round of 16 match.
Medvedev is the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings, although he only leads World No. 2 Alexander Zverev by 775 points. He is hoping to preserve his lead in Canada ahead of the US Open, and the National Bank Open 2022 odds have him among the top favourites to win the tournament.
“For sure I’m watching [the battle for No. 1] a little bit,” Medvedev told ATPTour.com. “Depends also the moment because I know at the end of the year, unless I try to win every tournament that is left, it’s probably going to be Rafa [Nadal] for [year-end No. 1]. But at the same time, I can keep it for quite a long time I feel like if I play good here in the [North American hard-court swing].”
Unjabbed Djokovic unlikely to play
World No. 6 Novak Djokovic was listed on the National Bank Open’s entry list, which was released last month.
However, it’s highly unlikely that the Serb will play in Montreal since he remains unvaccinated and Canada continues to have strict Covid vaccination rules in place.
When discussing Djokovic’s status last month, National Bank Open director Eugene Lapierre said the Serb had get to jabbed if he wants to compete at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
“The situation is clear – either Canada will change the rules regarding vaccination or he (Novak Djokovic) will have to roll up his sleeves and receive the vaccine,” said Lapierre. “However, I do not consider either of those two scenarios likely.”
Djokovic could also face a similar problem with the upcoming US Open. The Serb already missed this year’s Australian Open due to his unvaccinated status.
Zverev withdraws amid ankle injury
Aside from Djokovic, Alexander Zverev is another big name who will miss out in Montreal. The World No. 2 officially withdrew from the tournament last week as he continues to recover from the serious ankle injury he suffered at the French Open.
The German underwent surgery to repair torn ligaments in his ankle and has not been in action on the ATP Tour since.
Although, Zverev – a former National Bank Open champion back in 2017 – is still hoping to come back in time to play in the US Open later this month.
Rafa Nadal getting ready for return
While Zverev is still not ready to return to action, Rafael Nadal is on the verge of making it back on the court and could very well feature in Montreal.
The Spanish superstar had to pull out of the semi-finals at Wimbledon due to an abdominal injury, but he is on the National Bank Open entry list and recently posted pictures of himself back in training on social media.
Last month, National Bank Open director Eugene Lapierre confirmed that Nadal had already made plans to play in Canada.
“He’s made hotel reservations and he has asked us to send him a case of the balls we’re using for the tournament,” Lapierre said.
Nadal is the record five-time champion in the Canada Masters, with titles in 2005, 208, 2013, 2018, and 2019.
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