Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Sunday 9th August)

The Canadian Masters will have the entire Quarter Final lineup settled by the end of play on Sunday as the Fourth Round comes to a conclusion.

Weather conditions have been pretty difficult for the players and that has led to a number of surprise results.

The ATP tournament always felt wide open after the withdrawals before the event even began, but the early defeat suffered by Alexander Zverev means this is a Masters tournament that is filled with opportunity for those remaining.

It has been a different story in Toronto where the WTA tournament is being played and where the big stars have come through a couple of Rounds.

This means the tournament is set up to give us an early look at some of the potential US Open Champions, although the focus right now has to be on winning one of the big tournaments outside of the Grand Slams.

Tallon Griekspoor v Daniel Merida Aguilar: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz all announced they would be missing the Canadian Masters for various reasons and Alexander Zverev has been beaten before the tournament has really gotten going.

All of this means a big opportunity has opened up for someone to pick up a big title and it really does feel like the ATP event in Montreal is wide open.

Tallon Griekspoor is the reason that the draw has opened up thanks to his upset win over Zverev and he has been able to back that up by moving through to the Fourth Round. He fought through some difficult moments to win in the Third Round and Griekspoor will have taken plenty of confidence out of that performance to follow up the win over Alexander Zverev.

Next up is a young Spaniard who has put together a very good tournament.

Daniel Merida Aguilar has had a decent year on the hard courts, but has really impressed over the last week and the World Number 63 is set for another jump in the World Ranking. A new career high mark is going to be set, regardless of when this tournament run comes to a conclusion, and Merida Aguilar can play with some freedom.

The serve still needs some developing on the hard courts, but Daniel Merida Aguilar has been very effective on the return and that could make him dangerous.

However, Tallon Griekspoor has found his rhythm on the return at this tournament and he should be able to put some pressure on the younger player in what is likely another competitive match.

Overall, it is the lower Ranked player who has impressed the most here in Montreal and Tallon Griekspoor also has the best win on the record- he may just be able to find his best tennis when he needs it the most and that can see him come through a Fourth Round match that is likely going to be decided by the fine margins.

Jakub Mensik - 3.5 games v Botic van de Zandschulp: The run to the French Open Semi Final was the full breakthrough on the Tour for Jakub Mensik, but it should be remembered that he as won a Masters tournament on the hard courts of Miami last year.

There is a lot of encouraging signs around the development of Jakub Mensik and he will certainly feel he has every chance of winning a second Masters considering the absence of so many big names.

The serve has been a big weapon this week, as it usually is for Jakub Mensik, but the really eye-catching part of his performances has been the quality of return produced.

It should be good enough to put Botic van de Zandschulp under pressure, although the World Number 70 will have taken a huge amount of heart from beating Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz. Both of those opponents had gotten the better of van de Zandschulp in previous matches on the Tour and so those wins here in Montreal should have given the veteran a boost in confidence, as well as pushing him back up the World Rankings.

Botic van de Zandschulp has played well this week, but the returning numbers will be hard to maintain against a server like this one.

The Dutchman is winning 60% of his service points, which will give him a chance to stay in the match, although Jakub Mensik is expected to have enough success on the return to cover the handicap mark here.

Ben Shelton v Joao Fonseca: The early defeats at both Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami and the Quarter Final loss in Washington last week will have been a disappointment for Ben Shelton, but he is the defending Champion of the Canadian Masters. He has shown that he is not going to give up this trophy easily after two very strong wins, while Ben Shelton may feel like the favourite considering the top Ranked players that will not be competing in the coming days.

This may be one of the tougher challenges against Joao Fonseca.

The talented youngster will be aiming to finish within the top 20 of the World Rankings at the end of the season and Joao Fonseca is expected to be Seeded at the US Open, which will give him a chance to push towards those positions.

However, Joao Fonseca has yet to find the consistency on the hard courts that some may have expected- at his best, he can be very tough to deal with, but Fonseca has not played as much tennis on this surface in 2026 as he may have expected.

Wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud show the kind of level that Joao Fonseca can produce, but Ben Shelton has already gotten the better of this opponent on the European clay courts.

That should be a surface that favours Fonseca more than Shelton, but the latter had the superior serve and that is expected to be the case on a hard court in North America.

A deciding third set may be needed, but Ben Shelton looks like he deserves a stronger edge in the outright market to move through to another Quarter Final at the Canadian Masters.

MY PICKS: Tallon Griekspoor @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Jakub Mensik - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Ben Shelton @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Canadian Masters: 13-14, - 3.46 Units (27 Units Staked, - 12.81% Yield)

Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Saturday 8th August)

It continues to be a frustrating week filled with selections that have been on the edge of stringing the wins together, but ultimately finding a way to come up short.

That was the case for both Tallon Griekspoor and Alexandra Eala on Friday- the former had the double break needed to cover in his eventual win over Matteo Arnaldi, but lost focus for a moment to hand one back and missed the cover by a single game.

Later Alexandra Eala had the chance to serve out the match, and to cover, but blew the opportunity and eventually needed to come through a final set decider in which more chances were wasted to put a strong win on the board.

These things happen in a long season on the Tour and the only positive is that there has been little wrong with the identification of the selections being made.

Saturday will be the beginning of the Fourth Round at the Canadian Masters and eight matches have been scheduled to be played.

However, there are plenty of competitive looking matches out there and the large majority deserve a watching brief with the two selections made both coming from the WTA Toronto tournament.

Jessica Pegula - 3.5 games v Diana Shnaider: These two met in Washington last week and both Jessica Pegula and Diana Shnaider are playing with the kind of confidence that will make them dangerous when the US Open begins later this month.

The back to back WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati is an opportunity for players to really lay down a marker for the US Open and the top names have made it through to the Fourth Round on this side of the draw.

Both Jessica Pegula and Diana Shnaider are top 15 Seeds here in Toronto- the former has always been very comfortable on the hard courts, while the latter has shown she can perform very well on the surface and has used the run at Roland Garros to bolster the confidence.

It was Jessica Pegula who won the Semi Final played in Washington last weekend and that makes it four wins from four matches played against this younger opponent. The three hard court wins have all been in straight sets with the sole set won by Diana Shnaider coming in a clay court tournament held in Charleston, which is very different to the European clay on which she had considerable success at the second Grand Slam of the season.

Diana Shnaider played well enough in the match last week, but this has proven to be a tough match up for her in previous meetings and that was the case again in Washington.

The Pegula first serve has proven to be a key shot, but it is the impressive numbers defending the second serve that can make the difference on the scoreboard at pressurised moments. It is the World Number 3 who has had a clear edge on the second serve and that is likely going to be something we see in this Fourth Round match on Saturday.

For all of the improvements we have seen from Diana Shnaider, it should be noted the loss to Jessica Pegula last week has dropped her to 1-6 in matches against top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard courts this season. The second serve and the return have simply not been good enough against the elite players of the WTA Tour and that is where Shnaider may end up coming up short again in this match.

Iga Swiatek - 1.5 games v Marta Kostyuk: Revenge has to be on the mind for Iga Swiatek who was upset in the Fourth Round at the French Open by Marta Kostyuk, one of the most improved players on the Tour this season.

That improvement is underlined by the fact that Marta Kostyuk has arrived at this WTA 1000 event at her career best World Number 11 Ranking, although cracking the top 10 is going to be the ambition through the remainder of the season.

Marta Kostyuk does have some important World Ranking Points to protect here in Toronto and at the US Open, but the Ukrainian is playing with a real confidence having reached the Semi Final at both the French Open and Wimbledon. The Asian swing after the US Open will give Kostyuk the opportunity to really push for the top 10 finish, while she is actually on the edge of the top eight and a place in the WTA Finals.

All of that will give her confidence and beating Iga Swiatek on her favourite surface can only be another boost.

However, the World Number 8 has been operating at a very high level on the hard courts and her two wins here in Montreal is a reminder of the kind of tennis that Iga Swiatek can produce.

One of the problems has been consistency within a tournament- Iga Swiatek could be cruising through the Rounds, but any time she has felt some pushback, the response has not come quickly enough and that has seen her fall away within matches.

There has been little wrong with the numbers, but it is also important to state that Iga Swiatek has yet to reach the Semi Final at any hard court tournament in 2026!

Half of the six hard court losses have been against top 10 Ranked opponents and Iga Swiatek will take heart from the fact that Marta Kostyuk is 3-3 against top 10 Ranked opponents herself this season. All of the wins came in the same event in Brisbane where she lost in the Final and Kostyuk has lost the last three hard court matches under that parameter, albeit to Elena Rybakina (twice) and Aryna Sabalenka.

The improvement in the Marta Kostyuk game that has been mentioned is highlighted by a 7-4 record against t0p 10 players overall in 2026, but Iga Swiatek may just produce a reminder of her own capabilities ahead of the US Open.

MY PICKS: Jessica Pegula - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Iga Swiatek - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Canadian Masters: 12-13, - 3.37 Units (25 Units Staked, - 13.48% Yield)

Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Friday 7th August)

After a pretty disappointing start to the Canadian Masters, the Thursday selections all returned winners, which has also pulled back the numbers for the tournament.

There is still more work to do on what is expected to be a potentially wet day in both Montreal and Toronto, but not to the extent that matches will need to be postponed and set for Saturday instead.

However, rain delays are expected and those can change the momentum of any match if a possibility of leaving the court and reassessing the tactics come into play- those can sometimes work in favour of the selections so it is not something to overly worry about, although it should be noted as the Third Round is completed at both tournaments being run for the ATP and WTA.

It has been a busy day and so while these selections have been researched, the timing of the schedule of play means only a 'MY PICKS' section is added to the Friday thread, as well as the updated numbers from the tournament.

MY PICKS: Tallon Griekspoor - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Alex Michelsen - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Tommy Paul - 2.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Botic van de Zandschulp-Hubert Hurkacz Over 0.5 Tie-Breakers @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Jakub Mensik - 2.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Alexandra Eala - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Canadian Masters: 10-9, - 0.92 Units (19 Units Staked, - 4.84% Yield)

Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Thursday 6th August)

It has been a frustrating first few days at the Canadian Masters as far as the Tennis Picks have gone with some fine margins falling the wrong way.

So far, every day has ended up with a slight loss, but those have added up over the course of the opening few days in Montreal/Toronto and a turnaround is needed.

The Third Round is being played on Thursday and there are sixteen matches to be played, but it looks a much more difficult day to find good angles and the four matches that have passed the criteria to provide selections can be read below.

Diana Shnaider - 1.5 games v Anna Kalinskaya: These players met in an epic match in Tokyo last year and it was Anna Kalinskaya that came through in three sets on a hard court, but Diana Shnaider may have what it takes to earn a revenge victory here in Toronto in the Third Round of the Canadian Masters.

It is a quality looking match for this stage of the tournament and Diana Shnaider may believe that she should have beaten Anna Kalinskaya when they met in the Japanese capital during the Asian swing portion of the Tour. She had been the better player in the match, but Kalinskaya won the big points and that proved to be the small margin needed to edge past her compatriot.

Diana Shnaider played well in Washington last week and will have taken a huge amount of confidence from the performance at the French Open.

There is a lot to like about her all round game, but Diana Shnaider has sometimes struggled against some of the very best players on the Tour.

Anna Kalinskaya is very capable and has reached the Quarter Final at a couple of hard court events this season, including last week in Washington.

However, she is just 2-7 in hard court matches against opponents that are Ranked higher than her this season and Kalinskaya's numbers have been heavily impacted in those matches. The first serve has not been as effective and Anna Kalinskaya has struggled to impose her return and that may be where Diana Shnaider has the edge in this good looking match.

Elina Svitolina - 3.5 games v Anastasia Potapova: She reached the Quarter Final at Roland Garros and lost a tight match, but a poor grass court campaign and an early loss in Washington means Elina Svitolina has arrived in Canada with little momentum behind her.

A tight win in the Second Round will have helped and Elina Svitolina will need little motivation when facing someone who only recently has changed nationality from Russian to Austrian.

Doing so may have earned Anastasia Potapova some respect from the Ukrainian players on the Tour, but Elina Svitolina, and others, have made it clear that they do take those matches even more seriously when they come up. That should be the case again, while Elina Svitolina has also been the stronger hard court player of the two anyway.

Anastasia Potapova is Seeded here and her win in the Second Round means she is now 9-9 on the hard courts this season.

However, that becomes 2-7 when only considering matches in which Potapova is the lower Ranked player and her second serve has been a real issue in those matches. A return player like Elina Svitolina should be able to exploit that second delivery and the World Number 9 has been dominant in matches she would expect to win.

It has been over four years since these two players met on the Tour, but Elina Svitolina should still be the stronger hard court player of the two and that may show up on the final scoreboard in the last Singles match of the day.

Cameron Norrie + 3.5 games v Alex De Minaur: Six previous matches have been split with three wins each, but it is something of a surprise to note that Cameron Norrie has won three of the four matched played on a hard court.

The British player has been in good form over the last couple of weeks and Cameron Norrie should be confident with how this match up against Alex De Minaur has worked out.

At the same time, it should be noted that Alex De Minaur's sole win over Cameron Norrie on a hard court came three years ago at the Canadian Masters, albeit when hosted by Toronto and not Montreal. Despite that, the Australian should feel pretty good about that even having lost to Cameron Norrie at the Indian Wells Masters back in March.

Alex De Minaur has been struggling for consistency in recent weeks and this has proven to be a tough match up for him, even as he has been Ranked considerably higher than Cameron Norrie. Both matches this season have been competitive affairs, but Norrie has shown he has a bit more behind the serve in the head to head and that can make the difference.

The expectation is on the shoulders of Alex De Minaur, but this spread looks a game too high.

Even in a winning effort, Cameron Norrie is certainly good enough to keep the final score within this handicap mark set as long as he continues to serve as effectively as he has been in the lead up to the US Open.

Rafael Jodar - 1.5 games v Lorenzo Musetti: These two players could be rivals for many years to come as they both look to also push up closer to the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as the leading younger players on the Tour.

It is the second tournament in a row that Rafael Jodar and Lorenzo Musetti are meeting and it was the teenager from Spain who won the Quarter Final contest in Washington last week.

Rain meant Rafael Jodar did not complete his time in Washington until Monday when he was beaten in the Final by Taylor Fritz, but he made a relatively strong start to the tournament here in Montreal. At 19 years old, tiredness cannot be a huge factor for Rafael Jodar, but it is a factor and that cannot be completely ignored.

He needed three sets in the Second Round win, whileLorenzo Musetti came through in straight sets having only recently returned to the Tour.

The Italian missed both the French Open and Wimbledon before returning in Washington last week and it has been a season of injury for Lorenzo Musetti.

His hard court numbers have been solid, but Musetti was second best in the loss to Rafael Jodar last week and he may need a bit more time to rebuild his match fitness before he can close that gap. Another week my not be enough time and Lorenzo Musetti may find himself coming up a little short in this match again, although Rafael Jodar is going to be aware of the threat posed by the higher Ranked opponent having seen that at firsthand last week in Washington.

MY PICKS: Diana Shnaider - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Elina Svitolina - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Cameron Norrie + 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Rafael Jodar - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Canadian Masters: 6-9, - 4.25 Units (15 Units Staked, - 28.33% Yield)

Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Wednesday 5th August)

Better weather is going to help both the ATP Montreal and WTA Toronto events get back on track, but it does mean Wednesday is a much busier schedule than would usually be the case at these extended Masters event.

Almost the entire Second Round of the tournament in Toronto is scheduled to be played over twelve plus hours, while the WTA event is on much better timing, although the forecasts for the days ahead look troubling for the organisers and the players.

The ATP selections have some analysis attached to them, but the WTA Toronto selections have been placed in the 'MY PICKS' below.

Valentin Vacherot - 1.5 games v Mariano Navone: An injury back in May has held Valentin Vacherot back and he is still finding his feet back in competitive action.

Taking in a couple of clay court events last month may have been a decision to try and rebuild some rhythm, but Valentin Vacherot is a confident hard court player and the Masters win in Shanghai last year has been key to his current World Ranking.

That run does also mean there is some pressure on Vacherot to put together some strong runs ahead of the defence of the title in Shanghai to make sure World Ranking Points are keeping him inside the top 30.

The lack of recent tennis is a concern, but Valentin Vacherot is taking on Mariano Navone in the Second Round, who is a player much more comfortable on slower surfaces.

His win over Matteo Berrettini in the First Round deserves a lot of respect, but the Italian created more than double the amount of Break Points and will feel he let Navone off the hook. Mariano Navone is a decent hard court player, but does not spend a lot of time on the surface and had lost both previous matches against top 50 Ranked opponents this year before the win over Berrettini.

One of those defeats came against Valentin Vacherot in Miami and the World Number 18 can do enough to back that up here.

Zizou Bergs - 1.5 games v Sebastian Baez: He may not be the most trustworthy of players on the Tour, but Zizou Bergs is playing at a career best World Ranking mark and is facing an opponent who has had little time for hard court tennis.

Sebastian Baez did begin the season very well on the surface, and that may prevent him finishing up with another losing record on the hard courts. However, recent years have seen Sebastian Baez spend very little time within these tournaments and his numbers have highlighted a vulnerable serve.

This is never going to be good enough for sustained success on the hard courts and Zizou Bergs should be able to create enough Break Point opportunities to get on top of this match.

It has not been the most convincing year on the surface for the Belgian, but Zizou Bergs has a serve that should keep the scoreboard pressure on Sebastian Baez.

The return of serve has been the problem, but the Baez serve should aid Zizou Bergs and he can beat the World Number 48 for a second time on the hard courts on the pro Tour.

Cameron Norrie - 2.5 games v Ignacio Buse: The higher Ranked player has built his position on successes on the clay courts and it does feel like this could be a difficult time of the season for Ignacio Buse.

Back in March, Ignacio Buse was the World Number 63 and trying to Qualify for the Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami- he failed at the former and was beaten in the First Round of the main draw in the latter and that is the limit of his hard court experiences in 2026.

Last year, Buse finished with a 7-8 record on the surface and the majority of those matches were played at Challenger or Qualifying level.

Credit has to be given to Ignacio Buse for making it through three Qualifying Rounds at the US Open in 2025, which will not have to be negotiated in 2026, but he has yet to find his rhythm at this level and British player Cameron Norrie should be able to take advantage.

Cameron Norrie has reversed his slide down the World Rankings and reached the Semi Final in Los Cabos last week and has already won a match here in Montreal. The serving and return numbers on the hard courts have been pretty solid so far this season and Cameron Norrie should have enough experience to believe he can work his way through this Second Round contest and continue to add to the World Ranking Points.

Earning a Seed for the US Open is still a possibility for Norrie and he should have enough to cover the handicap mark set for this match.

Taylor Fritz - 4.5 games v Thiago Agustin Tirante: The likelihood is that Taylor Fritz will have big decisions to make about the remainder of the season following the US Open as he continues to play through an injury that can make it tough to compete with the elite of the Tour.

However, he showed in Washington earlier this week that he remains one of the tougher outs on a hard court and so missing his home Grand Slam does not seem like an option.

Instead Taylor Fritz may look for one more big effort in New York City and then perhaps choose to rest and prepare for the 2027 season rather than taking in the Asian swing and, likely, the Tour Finals.

His level remains strong on a hard court and Taylor Fritz is expected to open his Canadian Masters with a solid win, even if the American is not the most convincing of return players on this surface.

Instead it is the serve that can place a lot of pressure on opponents and Thiago Agustin Tirante may already feel he has overachieved by simply making the Second Round in Montreal.

Like many of his compatriots, Thiago Agustin Tirante is much more comfortable on a clay court rather than a hard court, but he has played well enough on the surface to deserve respect.

The problem has been when it comes to taking on the elite of the Tour on the surface as Tirante has suffered a couple of one-sided defeats in 2026 and his career record is now 0-3 in hard court matches against top 20 Ranked opponents. His service numbers on the hard courts are decent overall, but have taken a massive dip against those top 20 opponents played, while Thiago Agustin Tirante has struggled on the return.

Both of these issues could come up in this Second Round contest and Taylor Fritz may ride the momentum of the title win in Washington to a strong start in Montreal.

Daniil Medvedev - 3.5 games v Botic van de Zandschulp: The gap between the Wimbledon exit and the start of this tournament in Montreal raises some concerns, as does the recent Daniil Medvedev set of results when playing in Canada after that layoff.

However, the match up should be one that makes the World Number 6 pretty comfortable and he looks capable of winning with something to spare.

Over the course of his career, Daniil Medvedev has been at his best on the hard courts and he looks like he is going to reach at least 30 wins on the surface again in 2026. Winning another Grand Slam remains the ambition, but Medvedev has to find something different against the elite of the Tour, even if his current level is good enough to win matches like this one.

The hard court numbers when facing opponents Ranked outside of the top 50 have been impressive in 2026 and Daniil Medvedev has regularly got the better of Botic van de Zandschulp when they have met on the Tour.

Botic van de Zandschulp has a solid win on the board in Montreal, but has a 0-4 record against top 20 Ranked opponents on the hard court this season and his serve has faced the pressure. That is likely to be the case in this one against Medvedev, who has won 43% of the service points played on the van de Zandschulp serve in the four previous meetings, which have all been on the hard courts.

Lack of recent competitive tennis could make things a bit tougher for Daniil Medvedev, but he will be encouraged by the performances of Botic van de Zandschulp when he has been asked to step up his level and the former World Number 1 can produce an opening win with a degree of comfort.

MY PICKS: Valentin Vacherot - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 William Hill (1 Unit)

Zizou Bergs - 1.5 Games @ 1.80 William Hill (1 Unit)

Cameron Norrie - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Taylor Fritz - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Daniil Medvedev - 3.5 Games @ 1.70 William Hill (1 Unit)

Iva Jovic - 4.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Maria Sakkari - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Elise Mertens - 4.5 Games @ 1.95 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Sorana Cirstea - 4.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Canadian Masters: 2-4, - 2.29 Units (6 Units Staked, - 38.17% Yield)

Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Tuesday 4th August)

The next couple of days are forecasted to be dry, and hot, for the Canadian Masters in Montreal and Toronto, but more wet weather is just around the corner.

At least the tournaments will have a chance to get back on track with the conditions meaning some of the First Round matches at the Canadian Masters in Montreal have been held over until Tuesday.

It also means a very busy day of action, although there are 'only' four matches that have appealed enough to be worthy of backing a selection.

Those Picks can be read below.

Aryna Sabalenka - 6.5 games v Moyuka Uchijima: For a lot of players, reaching the Quarter Final at the French Open and the Fourth Round at Wimbledon in the same season that they have finished Runners Up at the Australian Open may be considered a successful campaign.

Aryna Sabalenka is the World Number 1 and not most players and she will be hoping the time away from the court since the defeat at Wimbledon has just given herself the time needed to have a reset.

Despite that loss in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka continues to show she is the best hard court player on the WTA Tour and it was the World Number 1 who won both titles at Indian Wells and Miami. She is the defending US Open Champion and Sabalenka will head to New York City as the player to beat, although she would like to put a statement tournament on the board either here in Toronto or in Cincinnati.

Relatively early defeats have been the feature of the last two times Aryna Sabalenka has played in Toronto, but she should have too much for Moyuka Uchijima who is Ranked outside the top 100 and had to win a Qualifier and one main draw match to earn this opportunity.

The First Round win was impressive, but this is a significantly tougher test for Moyuka Uchijima and she is going to need to get plenty of first serves in play to try and put pressure on Aryna Sabalenka.

However, this is a Second Round match that will likely be dominated by the top Seed and Aryna Sabalenka has offered little encouragement to those Ranked outside the top 50 when facing them on the hard court.

Amanda Anisimova - 4.5 games v Lanlana Tararudee: The 2025 US Open Champion is expected to make a strong start to her return to competitive tennis this month and the 2025 Runner Up can do the same.

Like the top Seed, Amanda Anisimova has taken several weeks off after losing in the Third Round at Wimbledon twelve months after reaching the Final at SW19.

2026 has not been the best year on the hard courts for Amanda Anisimova, who has a bigger target on her back after the strong Grand Slam showings in the second half of last season. However, she continues to be someone who can put together high quality tennis when facing thos she is expected to beat on the surface and the challenge is for Lanlana Tararudee to change that momentum.

It has been a good summer for Lanlana Tararudee who has won a title on the hard courts at a lower level before reaching the Quarter Final in Prague, but the World Number 79 is going to be well aware that this is a much tougher test than she has faced in recent weeks.

Lanlana Tararudee has shown she can be very effective on the hard courts, but the lack of experience of facing someone as good as Amanda Anisimova should eventually show.

She did offer real resistance to Ekaterina Alexandrova at Wimbledon in what is the only other top 20 match that Lanlana Tararudee has played, but Amanda Anisimova may have the power and ability on this surface to make sure the scoreboard looks a little more comfortable in her own favour.

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 games v Juncheng Shang: There had been a huge amount of excitement around Juncheng Shang as he continued to grow onto the Tour, but injuries have hurt his development over the last two years.

He is still only 21 years old, but Shang has playing with his Protected Ranking and needs to find some very strong results in order to rebuild his real World Ranking.

If he cannot do that, Juncheng Shang will have a very difficult road back towards the top 100 and his win in the First Round is a bonus.

Backing that up would really begin to clear things over the next few days, but that means upsetting one of the Seeded players joining the party in the Second Round.

Andrey Rublev has struggled for some consistency over a number of months, but picked up a title on the clay courts between Wimbledon and Montreal. That will give him a boost in confidence and the World Number 16 has a perfect record on the hard courts when facing an opponent Ranked outside of the top 50 this season.

His numbers have been really impressive in those matches and Andrey Rublev can get this hard court tournament off to a strong start.

Brandon Nakashima - 3.5 games v Daniel Altmaier: It was not for the lack of trying, but Daniel Altmaier had not won a hard court match in 2026 and it had looked like the run was going to continue as he trailed by a set and a break in the opening Round here in Montreal.

Six previous hard court matches had ended in one-sided defeats, but Daniel Altmaier can take confidence from the way he battled to move into the Second Round.

He now faces one of the Washington Semi Finalists from last week and someone who is very, very comfortable on the hard courts.

Brandon Nakashima is going to expect to put another winning year on the hard courts into the history books at the end of this season, but he still has room for improvement if he is going to take the next step in his career. Most notably there has to be some development in the return game to back up what has been a solid serve.

This is something that can hold him back at the business end of tournaments, but Brandon Nakashima should have more than enough against someone who has struggled on the hard courts as much as Daniel Altmaier has this season.

The lower Ranked player is only winning around 56% of his service points and that should offer up chances for Brandon Nakashima to really get on top of this match.

MY PICKS: Aryna Sabalenka - 6.5 Games @ 1.70 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Amanda Anisimova - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Andrey Rublev - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Brandon Nakashima - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Canadian Masters: 1-2, - 1.09 Units (3 Units Staked, - 36.33% Yield)

Canadian Masters Tennis Picks 2026 (Monday 3rd August)

We are now less than a month away before the final Grand Slam of the 2026 season begins and that means the Tour has to move through the first of two very important Masters tournaments on the North American hard courts.

Rain has been an issue over the first couple of days at the Canadian Masters and wet weather is expected in both Montreal and Toronto.

However, it is the tournament in Montreal where the ATP First Round is scheduled to be completed on Monday that looks to be most in danger of a washout.

Later this week, Toronto could also experience a few rain delays, but they should have a clearer Monday to get through the busy First Round and also a couple more clear days, which will give the Seeded players an opportunity to find some rhythm back on the court.

With that said, the focus for the opening Picks is on the First Round matches from the WTA Toronto event as we get this Masters run underway.

Yulia Putintseva - 3.5 games v Shuai Zhang: This has been a head to head dominated by Yulia Putintseva and she has produced the stronger hard court results in 2026.

The lack of competitive tennis since Wimbledon is a concern, but Shuai Zhang was beaten early in Washington last week and the 37 year old has not enjoyed this match up with seven straight defeats behind her.

Making it even tougher is that Zhang has won a single set in those seven matches and six of those have been on the hard courts.

Neither player has put together many strong hard court runs sincer very early in the season, but Yulia Putintseva may have enough of an edge to find a way to move past Shuai Zhang with a cover of this handicap mark.

Liudmila Samsonova - 3.5 games v Janice Tjen: Both played in Washington last week, but it was Liudmila Samsonova who impressed a little more than Janice Tjen and she can beat this opponent for the thitd time in 2026.

One previous win has been on a hard court, while the other was on a clay court, but both were very one-sided wins for Liudmila Samsonova and that can give her the mental edge when this First Round match is played.

The fact that both have a losing record on the hard courts is a disappointment,  but Liudmila Samsonova has the stronger numbers and that should not be ignored.

Adding that to the manner in which she has beaten Janice Tjen this season makes the higher Ranked player someone who can put an impressive win on the scoreboard in this one.

Alycia Parks - 2.5 games v Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva: Any player that comes through Qualifiers should be respected, but it did take Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva almost two hours and three sets to win her match.

The 20 year old will need a bit more out of the serve if she is going to earn an upset in the First Round, but that may be something that holds Kasintseva back in this match.

Alycia Parks is not easy to trust with her high-risk approach meaning great rewards, but also the lack of consistency that can lead to poor defeats.

The American looked in decent form in hard court events building towards the 2026 Canadian Masters and the edge in the serve gives Alycia Park the edge in the contest.

It has been the serve that has proved to be the difference in the two previous matches between the players and both have been won by the stronger server in Alycia Parks, which could be the case again on Monday.

MY PICKS: Yulia Putintseva - 3.5 Games @ 1.80 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Liudmila Samsonova - 3.5 Games @ 2.00 William Hill (1 Unit)

Alycia Parks - 2.5 Games @ 1.91 William Hill (1 Unit)

Season 2026: 187-157, + 9.73 Units (529 Units Staked, + 1.84% Yield)