Nadal can reclaim number one ranking with victory in Montreal
Thursday 10 August 2017 07:32, UK
The ATP Tour is fast resembling a case of last man standing but with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal the top two seeds, this week's Montreal Masters promises to be another thrilling instalment of the 2017 season.
Stan Wawrinka became the last casualty of a season that has already claimed Novak Djokovic and with the world no 1 Andy Murray pulling out of the latest leg of Masters tournaments, the focus will fall once again on two of the game's all-time greats.
In fairness, with or without injuries to the world's top three, the focus would be on Federer and Nadal who have dominated the year in much the same way they did almost a decade ago.
The pair have split the year's three majors with Nadal's 10th French Open sandwiched between Federer's 18th and 19th Grand Slam titles in Melbourne and Wimbledon.
Given their dominance, it's no surprise the pair have also claimed four of the five Masters events, Alexander Zverev's title in Rome is the only exception and the German, a winner in Washington on Sunday, will be among the contenders hoping to topple the top two.
Back in the spring and hot off the heels of his Australian Open success, Federer claimed the Indian Wells and Miami hard-court double and the Swiss starts as the favourite for a third Rogers Cup - although it's three-time champion Nadal who claims the top seeding in the absence of Murray.
Both men are making their return to action after Wimbledon and the Spaniard has been handed a tough draw with Borna Coric or a qualifier up first, before potential meetings with Juan Martin Del Potro and Milos Raonic - although Daniil Medvedev, David Goffin and John Isner also lurk in a tough-looking quarter.
A mouthwatering semi-final with fourth seed Zverev could be in store for Nadal, who last won the title in 2013, and he would hope to continue a run against the talented German that has seen the Spaniard win all three previous meetings, including twice this year.
Federer and Nadal have won four of the five ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events held this year. The Swiss star won both hard-court events in Indian Wells and Miami, while Nadal prevailed in Monte Carlo and Madrid. Federer, seeded second, will be pleased with a reasonable draw.
The Swiss is making his return to the venue six years after he last played in it. He will begin against a Canadian, with Vasek Pospisil and Peter Polansky meeting for the right to play Federer in the second round.
Last year's runner-up Kei Nishikori is his seeded quarter-final opponent but Steve Johnson and Gael Monfils will also hope to advance through to the last eight, while third seed Dominic Thiem and Grigor Dimitrov could meet in the other bottom-half quarter-final with the winner likely to face Federer.
Britain's Kyle Edmund could set up a first career meeting with Federer if he can come through the first two rounds - he faces David Ferrer in the first round with Jack Sock a potential second-round opponent.
Edmund's match features as part of our live action from 5.30pm on Monday and there is a host of star names in action with Nick Kyrgios taking on Viktor Troicki, Juan Martin Del Potro up against John Isner and Johnson taking on Monfils.
Six of the world's top 10 line up in Canada as the American hard court season continues, with the Cincinnati Masters coming straight off the back of the forthcoming week in Montreal.
Follow the action on Sky Sports Action from 5.30pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 7pm on Monday while we will have the Masters 1000 series in Montreal covered via our website skysports.com/tennis
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