Expanded from one week to 12 days, the 2025 National Bank Open unveiled its main draw on Friday, as all the pieces of the puzzle came together to form eye-catching first-round matches in Toronto.
Headlining the field, former champion Alexander Zverev returns to the tournament after his early loss at Wimbledon.
The German player spent quality time training at the Rafa Nadal Academy before heading to Canada to launch his hard-court North American summer swing in preparation for the US Open.
The top seed will open against Australian Adam Walton, who came back from a set down to beat Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi on Sunday.
In the second round, the world number three could face No. 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi, should he surge victorious from his opener on Tuesday.
Having landed in a packed top half of the draw, Zverev is on a collision course with NextGen ATP Finals champion Joao Fonseca in the third round.
The rising Brazilian star is making his debut at the Masters 1000 this week, opening proceedings against Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate in their first meeting on tour.
Zverev’s projected quarterfinal adversary is fifth seed Holger Rune, who withdrew from the Mubadala Citi DC Open before his first-round contest due to a back injury.
The Dane player will set off his run on Canadian soil against big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who beat Shintaro Mochizuki in straight sets on Day 1.
Meanwhile, former champion Daniil Medvedev, who fell in the quarterfinals in Washington to Frenchman Corentin Moutet in a dramatic three-setter, landed in the same half of the draw as Rune.
The tenth seed will kick off his campaign against Belgian qualifier Alexander Blockx or lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina, stepping in for Italian Luciano Darderi, who pulled out from the event on Sunday.
On Saturday, Darderi emerged victorious at the Plava Laguna Croatia Umag Open, claiming his second title in as many weeks, his fourth on tour.
However, as he closed out the match, he collapsed on the clay surface in pain, pointing to an ankle injury.
During the trophy ceremony, the 23-year-old Italian said: “The last month has been crazy. If you told me this two weeks ago, I’d say it was impossible. But I am very happy with my performance, and my tennis was incredible this week. I will try to rest now and continue to play like this in the next week on hard courts.”
The previous week, he won the ATP 250 in Bastad; both events are contested on clay.
Elsewhere, home hero Denis Shapovalov will begin his run against American Learner Tien.
In an all-American duel, the world No. 67 edged countryman Colton Smith with a straight-set victory.
Last week, Tien earned his fourth Top 10 win by stunning world No. 10 Andrey Rublev before being halted by eventual finalist Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the round of 16.
Speaking about his upcoming matchup with the local hope, the American said: “I’m looking forward to it. He plays well here usually; he’s done well here in the past. It will be fun, we should get a good court, if not Stadium.”
For his part, the Canadian No. 22 seed aims to carry momentum from Los Cabos to Toronto. In Mexico, he delivered a dominant performance to topple American Aleksandar Kovacevic for the title.
“We have been working for quite a few years now, and it hasn’t been easy coming back from injury. But all the work we’ve done is really paying off,” Shapovalov outlined after lifting his fourth career trophy.
The 26-year-old sustained a knee injury in 2023, which disrupted his career. On a comeback path ever since, he went from strength to strength, regaining confidence in his game.
The efforts started to pay off toward the end of last season when he earned his first title since 2019 in Belgrade.
Building momentum into 2025, the world No. 10 found his rhythm in Dallas, lifting the trophy.
Drawn in the bottom half of the second quarter, eighth seed Casper Ruud will square off against Roman Safiullin.
The world No. 80 rallied from a set down to overpower French qualifier Ugo Blanchet in three sets on Sunday afternoon.
It will be an intriguing match between two players who have never played one another before.
Despite the lack of results this season, Safiullin, who is yet to win an ATP tour title, will test the US Open runner-up at a time when he needs to evaluate his fitness and see where his level is at with Cincinnati and the fourth major of the season around the corner.
Ruud recently returned to tour-level competition in Gstaad, falling in the quarterfinals to Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
The Norwegian was playing his first tournament since late May at Roland-Garros, where he sustained a knee injury in his second round, which forced the 26-year-old to miss Wimbledon.
Moreover, he is projected to meet the third seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.
The Italian is bidding to recover lost ground, following a shocking early exit at Wimbledon, and a first-round loss to Briton Cameron Norrie on debut in Washington.
He will either play Chinese player Juncheng Shang or Australian James Duckworth.
The National Bank Open will lack the presence of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, and world No. 5 Jack Draper, all of whom withdrew from the venue citing injuries.