National Bank Open - ATP 1000 Montreal - WTA 1000 Toronto, Canada

 

Congratulations to this week's Champions of the the first leg of the North American Swing: 

Citi Open ATP 500 - WTA 250 Washington, DC

Men's Champion: Nick Kyrgios

Doubles Champions: Nick Kyrgios/Jack Sock

Women's Champion: Liudmila Samsonova

Doubles Champions: J. Pegula/E. Routliffe

Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic WTA 500 San Jose, California

Women's Champion: Daria Kasatkina

Doubles Champions: Y. Xu/Z. Yang

Abierto de Tenis Mifel ATP 250 Los Cabos, Mexico

Men's Singles Champion: Daniil Medvedev

Doubles Champions M. Kecmanovic/W. Blumberg

The Canadian Open in the provinces of Quebec and Ontario is one of the oldest tournaments in tennis, beginning in 1881 for the men and 1892 for the women. It has had many different titles over the years, often depending on the main sponsor. It became the National Bank Open in February 2021, with a 10-year agreement, so at least we won’t have to learn a new name for the next few years.

Beginning in 2011, the men’s and women’s tournaments alternate between Toronto and Montreal. This makes it easier for the venues to handle a big tournament, with the added advantage that if it is raining in one city it's usually fine in the other, so TV coverage can continue.

Both cities have family weekends for the qualifying rounds, with lots of activities geared to families and free admission, a terrific way to gain new fans, especially youngsters.

The DC weather was miserable - hot and humid - and took its toll on more than one player. The heat was less taxing in San Jose and Los Cabos and hopefully Canada's weather is more forgiving - so let's see who's game👇 

NATIONAL BANK OPEN CANADA

ATP 1000 Montreal

WTA 1000 Toronto

August 7 - 14, 2022

Omnium Banque Nationale ATP 1000
IGA Stadium (Stade IGA)
Montreal, Canada
August 7 - 14, 2022

Draw: Singles 56, Doubles 28

Defending champion: Daniil Medvedev (defeated Reilly Opelka)

Most titles: Ivan Lendl with 6.

The top 8 seeds have first round byes.

Seeds (in order of seeding): Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz, Cameron Norrie, Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, Diego Schwartzman, Marin Cilic, Roberto Bautista Agut, Grigor Dimitrov, Gael Monfils

Biosphere Geodesic Dome of Montreal 
Designed by Buckminster Fuller for Montreal's 1967 World's Fair - this relic has survived fire and ice and is on Montreal's Top 10 Things To See list

Wildcards: Canadian players Alexis Galarneau, Vasek Pospisil, plus David Goffin, Andy Murray

Protected ranking: Borna Coric, Stan Wawrinka

Withdrawals include: Novak Djokovic, John Isner, Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Reilly Opelka

Projected QFs by seeding

Medvedev (1) vs Hurkacz (8)
Ruud (4) vs Auger-Aliassime (6)
Sinner (7) vs Tsitsipas (3)
Rublev (5) vs Alcaraz (2)

The Gibeau is among the Top 10 Most Important Montreal Symbols - a solid part of Montreal history. Hermas Gibeau founded the eatery in 1932 and named both it and his version of the staple orange julep drink after himself. The drink is a basic orange juice with a twist; a creamier and heartier version with the secret ingredient being powdered egg (sound familiar? See Orange Julius created by Julius Freed in LA in 1926 and the official drink of the 1964 New York World's Fair). The Gibeau serves the typical Quebecois “casse-croute” treats, including cheeseburgers, french fries, veggie dogs and of course Quebec’s signature dish, poutine.

The Gibeau Orange Julep stands a monstrous 3 stories high and 40 feet wide started out as nothing but an ambitious “casse-croute” with a quirky, mysterious beverage to offer. It is now one of the oldest and most iconic fast-food joints in the city.

(An editorial comment by Hartt: Apparently Auger-Aliassime was asked what type of court he would prefer and he answered medium fast. Gee, I wonder what the court speed in Montreal is?)

Singles Draw

Doubles Draw

OOP

National Bank Open WTA 1000
Sobeys Stadium
Toronto, Canada
August 8 - 14, 2022

Bloor West Village Toronto - aka Hartt's Place

Surface: Hard

Draw: Singles 56, Doubles 28

The big news is that both Serena and Venus Williams are playing the tournament. The tourney director and the fans are ecstatic.

Defending champion: Camila Giorgi (defeated Karolina Pliskova)

Most titles: Monica Seles with 4.

Bloor Street in Bloor West Village - this is where Shirley Hartt strolls, shops - Baka Cafe and the numerous ethnic bakeries and eateries where she buys her treats when her favorite tennis players win a tournament (her list is huge, her treats are numerous😋

The top 8 seeds receive a first round bye.

Seeds (in order of seeding): Iga Swiatek, Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa, Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula, Garbine Muguruza, Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff, Daria Kasatkina, Belinda Bencic, Leylah Fernandez, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep, Jelena Ostapenko

Wildcards: Canadian players Rebecca Marino, Katherine Sebov, Carol Zhao, plus Venus Williams

Protected ranking: Sofia Kenin, Serena Williams

Runnymede Public Library was opened in Bloor West Village in 1930, serving the neighbourhoods around the Village. You're looking at Shirley's local library, the library's looking for Shirley for that last book that's late😲

Withdrawals include: Ekaterina Alexandrova, Sorana Cirstea, Danielle Collins

Projected QFs by seeding:

Swiatek (1) vs Muguruza (8)

Sakkari (3) vs Jabeur (5)

Pegula (7) vs Badosa (4)
Sabalenka (6) vs Kontaveit (2)

DRAWS

OOP

Ajax & Stanley on Lake Muskoka, Ontario with their Pet Mike (Dropper our resident Ontario resident Canadian)
Many of Muskoka's seasonal properties are large mansion-like summer estates, some of which have been passed down through families from generation to generation. Most of these expensive properties can be found along the shores of Muskoka's three major lakes: Muskoka, Rosseau and Lake Joseph. In recent years, various Hollywood and sports stars have built retreats in Muskoka, including Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Mike Weir, Martin Short, Harry Hamlin, Cindy Crawford, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. But the most famous are Ajax & Stanley!

POUTINE - one cannot think about food or leave Canada without indulging in this gourmet mess of fried potatoes smothered in curd and gravy, if you have the guts!

An editorial comment from your Sheriff:  The women's purse is 54.5% less than the men's purse - men's $5,926,545 - women's $2,697,250 - and I thought we'd come a long way baby with equal prize money👿)

And to our premiere resident researcher, Blog assistant and most important - Canadian - Shirley Hartt - merci beaucoup mon cheri!

Congratulations to this Weeks NBO Winners

National Bank Open WTA 1000 Toronto - Simona Halep and RUP Beatriz Haddad Maia