The opening round at the 2023 National Bank Open (or Rogers Cup, if you prefer) is complete and saw several upsets, with Tiafoe (9), Auger-Aliassime (10), Norrie (11) and Coric (12) all falling in their opening matches.
The ninth-seeded American’s loss was the highlight of the round, as he crashed out to wildcard Milos Raonic who has been absent from the tour for the last two years due to a string of injuries.
You can see the complete list of results below.
Round of 64 Canadian Open 2023 Results
Winner
Loser
Scoreline
Milos Raonic (WC)
Frances Tiafoe (9)
6-7(12) 7-6(4) 6-3
Max Purcell (Q)
Felix Auger-Aliassime (10)
6-4 6-4
Alex de Minaur
Cameron Norrie (11)
7-5 6-4
Tommy Paul (12)
Diego Schwartzman (Q)
6-3 3-6 6-4
Alexander Zverev (13
Tallon Griekspoor
6-4 7-6(3)
Aleksandar Vukic (LL)
Borna Coric (14)
6-2 6-3
Hubert Hurkacz (15)
Alexander Bublik
6-3 7-6(2)
Lorenzo Musetti (16)
Yoshihito Nishioka
6-4 6-1
Matteo Arnaldi (Q)
Vasek Pospisil (WC)
6-4 6-4
Matteo Berrettini
Gregoire Barrere
6-4 6-3
Francisco Cerundolo
Alexis Galarneau (WC)
6-2 4-6 6-4
Taro Daniel (Q)
Adrian Mannarino
7-6(5) 6-4
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
J.J. Wolf
6-0 6-2
Gabriel Diallo (WC)
Daniel Evans
7-6(4) 7-5
Marcos Giron (Q)
Emil Ruusuvuori
7-6(4) 7-6(6)
Ugo Humbert
Nicolas Jarry
4-6 6-3 6-4
Miomir Kecmanovic
Cristian Garin (Q)
7-6(2) 4-6 6-4
Thanasi Kokkinakis (Q)
Zhizhen Zhang
7-5 6-4
Sebastian Korda
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
6-3 6-2
Jiri Lehecka
Brandon Nakashima
7-5 3-6 7-6(2)
Mackenzie McDonald
Aslan Karatsev
6-3 6-4
Gael Monfils (PR)
Christopher Eubanks
7-6(3) 6-7(4) 6-1
Andy Murray
Lorenzo Sonego
7-6(3) 6-0
Ben Shelton
Bernabe Zapata Miralles
7-6(1) 6-4
Raonic Topples Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe has been of 2023’s in-form players, while his opponent Milos Raonic had played just four matches this season before their encounter.
Yet the former top 10 man came out on top, firing 37 aces as he closed out a 6-7(12), 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.
Raonic has been absent from the tour since 2021 after a succession of injuries, but after making a comeback during the grass court swing, he’s now building towards the US Open, where once complete, he’ll reassess what the future for his career looks like.
Two years away, five years from playing in Toronto, and a whole four years since I got to play in front of my parents, who were there for most of my matches as a junior and most of my matches as a pro. All these things came together for a great night for me, and I’m incredibly grateful. Raonic on his win over Tiafoe.
Purcell Spoils Felix’s Birthday
Felix Auger-Aliassime turned 23 on August 8th, but there was no icing on the cake for him in Toronto as his woeful season continued.
The 10th seed crashed out to qualifier Max Purcell 6-4, 6-4. The Aussie has had a very successful year on the Challenger tour. He dispatched two Canadians en route to qualifying in Toronto, so it was no surprise to see him complete the hat trick against the out-of-form Felix.
These top guys haven’t played me much, so they don’t know too many of my patterns yet. I’m sure Felix will figure it out at some point and smoke me. But I think it’s a little bit of that unknown, and I guess I also have nothing to lose out here. In saying that, I still trust my level is good enough to play with these big guys. Purcell on his win over Auger-Aliassime.
I wouldn’t be so sure, Max. Auger-Aliassime is now on a five-match losing streak and has 13 wins/13 losses this season, a far cry from the stats Roger Federer, whom he shares a birthday with, used to record.
Other Matches of Note
Gabriel Diallo beats Dan Evans for maiden ATP win. No big surprise as winning a bit title (Washington) is often followed up by a letdown as the Brit lost (7-6(4), 7-5) to the Canadian wildcard for the second time this year (Surbiton Challenger)
De Minaur negates Norrie. Cam Norrie’s form is fading as the season wears on, and he failed to serve out the first set, losing three straight games to drop it.
Murray Sinks Sonego: The Brit proved too good for Sonego, whose wild game doesn’t work well in windy conditions.
Rogers Cup Round of 32 Matches
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Ben Shelton
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Hubert Hurkacz (15)
Tommy Paul (12) vs Francisco Cerundolo
Marcos Giron (Q) vs Holger Rune (5)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs Gael Monfils (PR)
Sebastian Korda vs Aleksandar Vukic (LL)
Max Purcell (Q) vs Andy Murray
Matteo Berrettini vs Jannik Sinner (7)
Andrey Rublev (6) vs Mackenzi McDonald
Taro Daniel (Q) vs Milos Raonic (WC)
Alexander Zverev (13) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Jiri Lehecka vs Casper Ruud (3)
Taylor Fritz (8) vs Ugo Humbert
Gabriel Diallo (WC) vs Alex de Minaur
Lorenzo Musetti (16) vs Thanasi Kokkinakis (Q)
Matteo Arnaldi (Q) vs Daniil Medvedev (2)
Which round two matches are you looking forward to? Do you have any upsets you have earmarked? Let me know in the comments.