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2024 National Bank Open Montreal Players: The…

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2024 National Bank Open Montreal Players: The…

It’s a golden era in Canadian tennis. Our national squads each brought home the world’s most prestigious team tennis titles: the Davis Cup on the men’s side and the Billie Jean King Cup on the women’s. Unprecedented, in both instances.

At the NBO in Montréal, our young (and not so young) champions will undoubtedly want to capitalize on the stadium’s unwavering support to deliver breathtaking performances. There’s no better example than Denis Shapovalov’s unexpected win over Rafael Nadal on Centre Court in Montréal to remind us that there’s no limit to how far our own can go at their home event.

Leading the delegation is Félix Auger-Aliassime. With his commanding serve, devastating forehand and outstanding form, the former No.6 had a tremendous run in the juniors as the US Open champion in singles and doubles with Denis Shapovalov and a finalist at Roland-Garros.

As a pro, he’s collected five ATP titles and fought in the semis in New York and the quarters in Melbourne.

Injuries have hindered the tall right-hander, but he seems to be back on track. From No.36 in April, he’s risen to No.18 and added the Madrid Masters 1000 final to his record. And it goes without saying that the 23-year-old still has a lot of amazing tennis ahead of him.

READ: Raonic, Diallo, and Pospisil Receive Remaining Montreal Wild Cards

Little by little, Denis Shapovalov is rekindling the virtuosity of his youth. After a long break from the tour, the 25-year-old lefty and his superlative one-handed backhand nosedived in the rankings. He may be the current No.139, but keep in mind that he was a Top 10 player in July 2021. He ran into some bad luck from the physical perspective but seems to have rediscovered the dazzling shots we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from him. At the National Bank Open, he’s clocked up memorable wins over Nick Kyrgios and Rafael Nadal to the thunderous applause of euphoric crowds. Currently on the comeback trail, he got as far as the third round of Wimbledon—a result that bodes well for the next few months. With an NBO wild card in his pocket, he’s slated to walk out to an ovation on August 7.

Canadian GOAT Milos Raonic is still in it to win it. With his relentless serve, the towering right-hander has placed eight ATP winner’s titles in his trophy case over the course of his career: three from San Jose, as well as Chennai, Bangkok, Washington, St. Petersburg and Brisbane. And those are in addition to his finals at Wimbledon and the National Bank Open in 2016 and his AO semi. Has he got what it takes to thrill fans in Montréal? Absolutely.

Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau could definitely shake things up in Montréal. After a few years at the University of Kentucky, Diallo turned pro in 2022 and instantly found his stride. In the qualifying rounds of the NBO, he disposed of James Duckworth, an undeniably tough opponent, and then went on to win the Granby Challenger and compete in the final in Fairfield and the semis in Calgary. Those terrific performances earned him an invitation to join Team Canada at Davis Cup.

In 2023, he defeated Daniel Evans at the NBO and delivered wins for Canada over Lorenzo Musetti and Elias Ymer at Davis Cup. Under Martin Laurendeau’s watchful eye, the 22-year-old right-hander is only at the start of a career that promises to be prodigious.

As for Alexis Galarneau of Laval, he’s no ordinary player. The 25-year-old right-hander was key to Canada’s Davis Cup triumph thanks to his outstanding dismantling of Lorenzo Sonego and Canadian-turned-Chilean Alejandro Tabilo and three Ws in doubles with Vasek Pospisil. In 2023, he succeeded Gabriel Diallo as the titleholder in Granby.

Last but not least is the indestructible Vasek Pospisil, who recently made his return to tennis at the Winnipeg Challenger after rehabbing yet another injury. At 34 years old, the spectacular right-hander is a veteran of the Canadian contingent, and his career continues to impress. He ascended to No.25 in singles and No.4 in doubles with his 2014 Wimbledon doubles title and six more ATP winner’s trophies.

A critical asset on Canada’s Davis Cup squad, he played a key role in the nation’s 2022 triumph. A former member of the ATP Player Council (2018–2020), he’s a brilliant individual who’s still got lots of surprises in store for fans.

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