August 6, 2023, 7:04 PM
The National Bank Open main draw gets rolling, if Mother Nature co-operates, with a full day of first-round action on Monday in Toronto and Montreal.
Here’s a look at all you need to know for the first day of action.
Sportsnet Schedule
Women’s: 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT on Sportsnet NOW; 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE; 6:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet NOW
Men’s: 11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT on Sportsnet / Sportsnet NOW; 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet NOW
Women’s Order of Play in Montreal
Court Central
12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT: [16] Victoria Azarenka (BEL) vs. Magda Lenette (POL)
Jennifer Brady (USA) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
Not before 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT: [WC] Venus Williams (USA) vs. [13] Madison Keys (USA)
[WC] Rebecca Marino (CAN) vs. [Q] Katie Boulter (GBR)
Court Rogers
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: Lin Zhu (CHN) vs. Karolina Pliskova (CZE)
Lucia Bronzetti (ITA) vs. [12] Belinda Bencic (SUI)
Not before 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT: Sloane Stephens (USA) vs. Anhelina Kalinina (UKR)
Not before 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT: [10] Daria Kasatkina (RUS) vs. Elise Mertens (BEL)
[Q] Alycia Parks (USA) vs. Lauren Davis (USA)
Court 9
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: Jasmine Paolini (ITA) vs. Donna Vekic (CRO)
Varvara Gracheva (FRA) vs. Sorana Cirstea (ROU)
M. Kato (JPN) / A. Sutjiadi (INA) vs. C. Garcia (FRA) / P. Martic (CRO)
Court 5
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: [Q] Kayla Day (USA) vs. Marie Bouzkova (CZE)
M. Kostyuk (UKR) / S. Zhang (CHN) vs. T. Mihalikova (SVK) / Y. Xu (CHN)
[5] D. Krawczyk (USA) / D. Schuurs (NED) vs. M. Ninomiya (JPN) / S. Santamaria (USA)
Court 6
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: L. Marozava (BEL) / I. Gamarra Martins (BRA) vs. S. Aoyama (JPN) / E. Shibahara (JPN
A. Danilina (KAZ) / B. Mattek-Sands (USA) vs. K. Muchova (CZE) / M. Vondrousova (CZE)
Men’s Order of Play in Toronto
Centre Court
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: [WC] Alexis Galarneau (CAN) vs. Francisco Cerundolo (ARG)
Not before 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT: Gregoire Barrere (FRA) vs. Matteo Berrettini (ITA)
6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT: Davis Cup trophy ceremony
Not before 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT: [WC] Milos Raonic (CAN) vs. [9] Frances Tiafoe (USA)
[WC] Vasek Pospisil (CAN) vs. [Q] Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
Grandstand
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: [16] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs. Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP) vs. J.J. Wolf (USA)
Not before 2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT: Alexander Bublik (KAZ) vs. [15] Hubert Hurkacz (POL)
Not before 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT: [PR] Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Christopher Eubanks (USA)
[12] Tommy Paul (USA) vs. [Q] Diego Schwartzman (ARG)
Court 1
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: Brandon Nakashima (USA) vs. Jiri Lehecka (CZE)
Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) vs. [Q] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)
Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs. [Q] Taro Daniel (JPN)
[Q] Cristian Garin (CHI) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)
Court 4
11 a.m. ET / 8 a.m. PT: N. Lammons (USA) / J. Withrow (USA) vs. R. Haase (NED) / N. Mektic (CRO)
M. Purcell (AUS) / A. Rublev vs. [5] H. Nys (MON) / J. Zielinski (POL)
Not before 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT: A. de Minaur (AUS) / J. Sinner (ITA) vs. M. Arevalo (ESA) / J. Rojer (NED)
After suitable rest: [7] M. Granollers (ESP) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs. [WC] G. Diallo (CAN) / A. Galarneau (CAN)
Weather Forecast
Toronto: High of 23° C with chance of thunderstorms. POP: 80%
Montreal: High of 22° C with light rain. POP: 70%
Marquee Matches
Venus Williams vs. Madison Keys
The 43-year-old Williams, a 49-time tournament winner, is just 2-4 on the season as she puts the finishing touches on a historic career. Fellow American Keys reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year.
Rebecca Marino vs. Katie Boulter
Marino is the only Canadian woman in action on Day 1 and she has a winnable match. The Canadian is ranked 90th, while Boulter is 76th. The Brit, who has reached the third round of Wimbledon the past two years, won a pair of qualifying matches to advance to the main draw.
Milos Raonic vs. Frances Tiafoe
Canada’s Raonic, who missed the better part of two seasons with injuries before returning in June, could be making his final appearance at home in Toronto. He couldn’t have received a tougher draw. With the top eight seeds getting byes, the ninth-seeded Tiafoe is the highest-ranked player competing in the first round.
Gael Monfils vs. Christopher Eubanks
The 36-year-old Monfils is winding down a strong career that saw him reach a ranking as high as No. 6. Eubanks, in his Wimbledon main draw debut last month, reached the quarterfinals before losing a five-setter to Daniil Medvedev.
