the russian Daniel Medvedevnumber 1 in the world, and the Spanish Carlos Alcaraznumber 4 and second seeded, lead the list of contenders for Montreal Masters 1,000which will begin this Sunday with the casualties among the Spaniards Rafael Nadaldue to injury, and the Serbian Novak Djokovicfor his refusal to be vaccinated.
Medvedev, current champion of the tournament, will try to defend his crown against rivals such as Alcaraz, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Russian Andrey Rublev or the Italians Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini.
The main draw draw was unlucky for Medvedev, who could open against Australian Nick Kyrgios, a recent Wimbledon finalist, in one of the best moments of his career.
Alcaraz will face the American tour with a brilliant record on fast surfaces this year, where he won twelve of the fourteen matches he played, became the champion at the Miami Masters 1,000 and lost to his compatriot Nadal in the Indian Wells semifinals.
The Murcian, whose game adapts very well to this surface, has won 32 of his 44 matches played on these courts and is already a quarterfinalist at the 2021 US Open.
His debut will be against the American Tommy Paul or the Canadian Vasek Pospisil, with a hypothetical meeting with Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.
He is also joined by Tsitsipas, the third favorite, and Jannik Sinner, whom he defeated at Wimbledon and in the recent Umag final, although neither of them could handle him before the hypothetical semifinal.
“Everything is fine at the moment, I like the weather, I like the track, at the moment I feel very good. I saw the draw, but only in the first round. Every rival is difficult, so it’s difficult first round,” he assured. Alcaraz in statements published this Thursday by the ATP.
Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal will miss the Canadian tournament.
Nadal announced on Friday that he had given up playing in Montreal due to “minor discomfort” he suffered while serving.
“Since the days off and my subsequent return to training, everything has gone well these weeks as far as training and preparation,” Nadal explained in a statement sent to EFE.
“Four days ago I also started training the service and yesterday (Thursday), after training, I had a little discomfort that is still there until today. We have decided not to travel to Montreal and continue training without forces,” he added.
Nadal, winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, assured that he should be “careful at this point and think about health.”
However, he is optimistic: “I hope to play again in Montreal, a tournament that I love and that I have won five times in front of an audience that always welcomes me with love.”
For his part, Djokovic will not be able to participate in this tournament, which he has won four times in his career, because he does not comply with Canada’s coronavirus vaccination requirement.
The Serb also missed the Australian Open at the start of the year for the same reason.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
