 Welcome back to tennis talk. My name's Ken Williams, and we have a big ATP 1000 event this week the Canadian Open in Toronto In Canada it's a huge event on the calendar for the US Open Which is only a couple of weeks away. Of course, it's a split event as well with a WTA But we've got some big names playing in this one It's gonna be a big big event we have some huge names that are not playing in this one So let's go to the withdrawal list. All right starting with the withdrawal list here We have Mateo Baratini. He's not playing bronze medalist at the Olympics Krinyo Buster also not playing. Chorich is out. Novak Djokovic world number one He is not playing and Roger Federer also not playing this one. Gophane is also out Team is still battling injury. He's not playing. Rownich is not playing But Frink is out and also the gold medalist at the Olympics. Sashas Varev He is also not playing in this event. All right starting at the top of the draw now And we have 16 seeds in this one and they all get a buy in the first round. Denim Evadev He's the number one seed. He gets a buy in the first round He'll take on the winner of Evans versus Bublik who are going at it in the first round So that'll be an interesting matchup either way for Medvedev very tough opponent coming his way Then we've got a qualifier versus Fritz winner of that match takes on the number 16 seed Sinner in the second round who had a great week last week on the hardcourt Then we got the number 12 seed Diminor getting a buy in the first round He'll take on the winner of the wild card Brooksby and Basilash Vili who are going at it in the first round Then we've got catch Menovic versus Nishikori winner of that match takes on the number seven seed who be her catch So a lot of big names to watch out for in this one Of course Daniel Medvedev gonna be keeping an eye on him this week Also got to keep an eye on Yannick's thinner who's had a really good week on the hard courts this week making it to the Final of the Washington Open and I'm also interested to see how Nishikori does this week who is also playing really well this week in Washington so very stacked part of the draw not to mention guys like her catch and Diminor who are also very dangerous So there's the big three that I'm gonna be watching out for this week But it's gonna be a very interesting part of the draw and it's not gonna be easy for Medvedev going to the second quarter of the draw We have a number four seed Rubelev getting a buy in the first round He'll take on the winner of Strouf versus Fanini who are going at it in the first round Then we've got Isner versus Vakina winner of that match takes on the number 13 seed Garin in the second round then we've got the number 11 seed Monfice buy in the first round He would take on the winner of Milman or a qualifier in the second round Then we've got a qualifier versus quarter winner that match takes on the number five seed Shapavalov in the second round So this is kind of a bit of an open draw for me because you've got some really big names that you should be watching out for But overall I wouldn't be surprised who gets out of this one Of course you gotta watch out for Rubelev and Shapavalov both young players and both the high seeds in this part of the draw But I'm also interested to see how Isner does being an unseeded player playing in North America He does like playing on hardcords so very interested to see how he does in a pretty open draw This is a very wide open part of the draw and of course this part of the draw takes on Medvedev's part of the draw So potentially a Shapavalov versus Medvedev's semi-final or Rubelev versus Medvedev could be in the semi-final stage If it all plays out going to the bottom half of the draw now We've got the top section of the bottom half number six seed Rude who's had a great clay court season He won three titles back to back on clay. He gets a buy in the first round He'll take on the winner of Ramas Finales versus Chilich who were going at it in the first round Then we've got Lyovic versus a qualifier winner of that match takes on the number nine seed Felix Ogea Eliasim Then we've got the number 15 seed Karatsev He'll take on the winner of Nori or Hashinov in the second round and both of those players are in great form So circle that one as one to watch then we've got Senego versus Umbair winner of that match takes on Siti pass the number three Seed in the second round So really interested to see how this part of the draw goes because there are a lot of good players Not only the seeds but also the unseeded players of course we're watching out for Siti pass He might have to play Umbair in the second round who actually beat him at the Olympics a couple of weeks ago So want to see how Siti pass does this week also Casper Rude Want to see how he can convert his game from clay courts onto the hard courts because we have no more clay court events in 2021 so he's gonna have to play well on the hard courts if he wants to get into the A2B finals at the end of the year and Also interested to see how Hashinov done this week after getting to the gold medal match at the Olympics a couple of weeks ago See how he does on the hard courts this week and going to the bottom quarter of the draw now We've got the number eight seed Schwarzman. He gets a buy in the first round He'll take on the winner of Pear or McDonald in the second round Then we've got Pospasul the wild card taking on a qualifier winner of that match takes on the number 10 seed Batista Ragu in the second round Then we've got the number 14 seed Dmitrov getting a buy in the first round He'll take on the winner of the wild card Kirios or Opelka who are going at it in the first round That's a huge first round matchup circle that one is one to watch very excited to see that one Then we've got Harris versus a qualifier winner of that match takes on the number two seed Rafa Nadal so for me This is the most exciting part of the draw because of course we got Rafa We're gonna be watching out for Rafa this week the number two seed had a pretty disappointing week last week in Washington was a little bit injured as well actually lost to Harris in that ornament and he might have to blame again in the second round So there's already a blockbuster matchup on the cards and of course Kirios If you can get through Opelka and Dmitrov will set up that third round match with Rafa if they both win So very interested to see how Rafa and Kirios do in this event and of course got to watch out for Diego Schwartzman the number eight Seed he's played very well on the hardcourts over his career He's got a pretty good part of the draw if he can get through the first couple of rounds and with Rafa being in a pretty Tough part of the draw who knows if he's even gonna get through so Schwartzman He can make a little bit of a run for this and maybe make it to the semi-finals And of course the winner of this part of the draw will take on the city pass part of the draw So it potentially have a city pass versus Nadal semi-final or maybe a Schwartzman versus city pass semi-final Or even in a dial versus FAA semi-final But again anything is possible to have anyone in the semi-finals because these parts of the draw are very very wide open Especially with Rafa losing last week in a bit of an upset who knows what he's gonna be feeling like this week So there could be anyone in the semi-finals big opportunities for even the unceded players in this part of the draw So there it is the Canadian open for the ATP and it's a pretty stacked draw even the unceded players are very very dangerous Of course we got Nadal down the bottom Mehvedev up the top we'll see how they play because over the last couple of weeks they haven't played great We've had Mehvedev losing at the Olympics in a bit of an upset Of course Nadal lost last week to Harris in an upset which could be a second round matchup Very interested to see how that one goes this week Let me know down in the comments below who are you most interested to watch this week? And who is going to win this event because I don't think it's as straightforward as picking the one of the best seeds All right having a look at the draw and like I said, it's a very wide open draw It's not as straightforward as it's going for the best players in the world, but I'm gonna go with Andre Rubelev I feel like he's got a really good part of the draw I know Shapovalov is a dangerous player, especially playing in front of his home crowd But I think Rubelev has a pretty good draw and especially if Mehvedev was to go down early Rubelev might be able to sneak his way to the final and with Nadal and Sidney Pass getting a pretty tough draw Who knows who will be playing that final so I'm gonna go with Rubelev to make it and win his first ATP 1000 event Again, let me know down in the comments below who do you think will win this one with the Canadian Open? We didn't have it last year, but we have it this year and it's a pretty stacked event