World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 seed Canadian Milos Raonic placed in same half, could face off in the semifinals
Toronto, July 22, 2016 – The official draw for the 2016 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Toronto was conducted on Friday at Rogers Centre. Canadian star and recent Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic will take on the winner of Yen-Hsun Lu and rising star, 19-year-old Alexander Zverev in his opening match, while top-seeded Novak Djokovic will face either Dimitry Tursunov or Gilles Muller in the second round.
The Top 8 seeds all receive a first-round bye. Djokovic and Raonic have been placed in the same half of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semifinals. En route, Djokovic could see No. 5 seed Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals. The world No. 1 will be aiming to clinch his fourth Rogers Cup title following his wins in 2007, 2011, and 2012. Raonic, a 2013 Rogers Cup finalist, has a potential quarter-final duel with No. 7 seed David Goffin.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who was on hand for the official draw, is seeded No. 2 and will anchor the bottom half of the draw. His first match will see him take on the winner of Mikhail Youzhny opposite Stephane Robert. Should the seeds hold, he would face No. 3 seed Kei Nishikori in the semifinals, and No. 6 seed Dominic Thiem in the round of eight. The No. 8 seed is 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, who is in the same quarter as Nishikori.
There are several exciting first-round duels set to take place over the first two days of main draw play, highlighted by 17-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov challenging No. 11 seed Nick Kyrgios in his Rogers Cup debut. Another teenaged up-and-comer making his first appearance in Toronto is Taylor Fritz of the United States, against big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic. Other players in action will include Gael Monfils, John Isner, and next generation star Borna Coric.
Vasek Pospisil’s first-round match will be against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, currently ranked world No. 38. Three other Canadians are in the main draw as well – Frank Dancevic will face Sam Querrey, Steven Diez will be up against Brit Kyle Edmund, and Peter Polansky will take on a qualifier.
Several other Canadians will be competing this weekend for one of seven qualifier positions in the main draw. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Philip Bester, Benjamin Sigouin, and Brayden Schnur will be in action tomorrow, as part of Pizzaville Free Community Weekend this Saturday July 23 and Sunday July 24, with admission free for everyone for the two days.
Owned and operated by Tennis Canada, Rogers Cup presented by National Bank runs from July 23-31 at Aviva Centre in Toronto and will offer fans a chance to get closer to the best players of the ATP World Tour. For more information and tickets, please visit rogerscup.com.
