Following the conclusion of Wimbledon, two ATP Masters 1000 events in North America are now on the horizon as the build-up to the US Open gets underway.
The first of the pair will be the Canadian Open, where world number 24 Alexei Popyrin is the defending champion.
Jack Draper recently announced his withdrawal from the tournament, held in Toronto this year, citing a left-arm injury he sustained at Wimbledon.
Now, world number one Jannik Sinner and four-time Canadian Open champion Novak Djokovic have also pulled out of the event.
The Canadian Open draw is blown wide open after big withdrawals
With three of the world’s top six players withdrawing, the tournament has been blown wide open, presenting a huge opportunity for several ATP stars.
The obvious favourite is now Carlos Alcaraz, who did not appear at the Canadian Open last year in order to recover from the Paris Olympics.
He has just 60 points to defend from now through the US Open, and with Sinner not featuring in Toronto, the Spaniard’s chances of becoming world number one before the end of the year have just increased.
Two of the ATP top ten have never won a Masters title, one of whom is Ben Shelton.
| Rank | Player | Masters 1000 Titles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 4 |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | 7 |
| 3 | Alexander Zverev | 7 |
| 4 | Taylor Fritz | 1 |
| 5 | Jack Draper | 1 |
| 6 | Novak Djokovic | 40 |
| 7 | Lorenzo Musetti | 0 |
| 8 | Holger Rune | 1 |
| 9 | Ben Shelton | 0 |
| 10 | Andrey Rublev | 2 |
Shelton has secured two tour-level crowns since turning professional, and has made deep runs at multiple Grand Slam events, but now has the chance to claim the biggest title of his career, and advance even further up the rankings.
The other player to have never achieved the feat is Lorenzo Musetti, who came close in Monte Carlo but was denied by Alcaraz in the final.
Should the Italian go far in Toronto, he can close in on the top five, which he has never cracked before.
Huge points are on offer for all entrants, and they will be worth their weight in gold as players look to secure high seeding positions at the US Open.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic’s injuries at Wimbledon
Sinner was suffering from an elbow injury at Wimbledon during his fourth-round match with Grigor Dimitrov.
He was two sets down against Dimitrov before the Bulgarian was forced to retire after partially tearing his pectoral muscle.
Djokovic, on the other hand, hurt his groin after slipping in his quarter-final clash with Flavio Cobolli at the championships.
The two will hope to be ready for the US Open, where both have clinched titles before.
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