TORONTO — Felix Auger-Aliassime is of two minds about the raft of withdrawals from the National Bank Open.
On one hand, it is unfortunate that Canadian tennis fans won’t get to see the likes of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 6 Novak Djokovic compete in the Toronto tournament.
But on the other, Auger-Aliassime’s chances of becoming the first homegrown tennis player to win the men’s Canadian Open title in the Open Era have undoubtedly improved.
"I think (tournament director) Karl (Hale) and I might have a bit of a different angle here,” Auger-Aliassime, 24, joked as the draw was revealed at Sobeys Stadium on Friday in Toronto.
“Karl doesn't step on a court to play Alcaraz. So in my case, look, every tournament, it happens. You have to consider that the year is long and obviously players will have to make decisions about their schedule. But that doesn't change my goal here. Regardless if they were here or not, I'm here to compete, play and to try to win.”
Auger-Aliassime is part of a trio of seeded Canadians alongside Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Dillo. It's the first time the country has three seeded players in the men’s bracket at its national open.
All were drawn into separate quadrants, meaning the earliest they could meet is the semifinals. They each receive first-round byes as part of the revamped ATP Masters 1000 tournament which will feature 96 players and take place over 12 days — running from Sunday through Aug. 7 — for the first time.
Apart from the missing stars, a friendly draw and home crowd could help the Canadians’ chances, too.
“I really feel the support that we have from Canadians, so that fills me with a lot of strength and desire to play well,” said Auger-Aliassime, who won Olympic mixed-doubles bronze alongside Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski in Paris last summer.
“It's nice to come back every time. It doesn't happen often, so I try to soak in every moment.”
The 21st-seeded Auger-Aliassime, of Montreal, won’t have to face a seeded opponent until at least Round 3. He is also staring down a potential fourth-round match against American No. 4 Ben Shelton and a possible quarterfinal against No. 7 Frances Tiafoe, also of the United States.
Shapovalov, the Richmond Hill, Ont., native who is seeded 22nd, would have to get through a quadrant that includes No. 3 Lorenzo Musetti and No. 8 Casper Ruud to reach the semifinals.
The 26-year-old comes home on a high after winning his second title of the season earlier in July at an ATP 250 event in Mexico.
Montreal’s Diallo, the 27th seed who won his first career title in June, shares a quadrant with No. 2 Taylor Fritz and No. 6 Andrey Rublev.
Germany’s Alexander Zverev is the top seed in the tournament.
“You still have to win any match that comes day after day. And then obviously if you get into the later stages and these guys aren't around, OK, maybe the draw can open up,” Auger-Aliassime said. “But at the same time, all the players are very high quality these days, so I think anybody that wins the tournament is going to have a hard time.”
One of those high-quality players is Norway’s Ruud, a 13-time winner on the ATP Tour and three-time Grand Slam finalist.
But after winning the Madrid Open in April, Ruud has battled injuries and underperformance, including a second-round loss at the French Open and a withdrawal from Wimbledon.
“I played last week in Gstaad and didn't go as well as I hoped. But … I came early to prepare. So I'm going to try to spend every hour on the practice court well and be ready for this upcoming hard-court swing,” he said.
Likewise, Auger-Aliassime’s season hasn’t gone exactly as planned despite a pair of titles in January and February.
He said he employed an early-season strategy that included playing more lower-level tournaments ahead of Grand Slams — but while some went well, it hasn’t paid off at majors.
Vasek Pospisil of Vernon, B.C., who announced he would retire after the tournament, will face a qualifier in his first-round match and potentially meet Ruud in the second round.
At least seven Canadians will compete in the main draw — pending Saturday’s qualifying — but there are no all-Canadian matchups scheduled for the first round.
World No. 115 Liam Draxl of Newmarket, Ont., will take on No. 92 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain.
Alexis Galarneau, the Laval, Que., native ranked 198th, meets No. 65 Arthur Rinderknech of France.
Nicolas Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont.— Canada’s top-ranked junior — will make his main-draw debut against 68th-ranked Serbian Laslo Djere.
A Canadian man has never won the National Bank Open singles title since the Open Era began in 1968. Robert Bédard, who won his third title in 1958, is the last to accomplish the feat.
Bianca Andreescu’s 2019 championship marked the first for a Canadian woman since Faye Urban in 1969.
Dabrowski remains the last Canadian to win on home soil, having emerged victorious in women’s doubles alongside Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani in women’s doubles in 2021.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025.
Myles Dichter, The Canadian Press
