The Canadian Open men’s singles draw has been made – with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton potentially in line for an all-American semi-final at the tournament.
World No 4 Fritz, the second seed in Toronto, and fourth seed Shelton have landed in the bottom half of the draw, with the two projected to meet in the last four.
After receiving an opening-round bye, like all 32 seeds in the draw, Fritz will start his campaign in round two versus one of Camilo Ugo Carabelli or Roberto Carballes Baena.
The American could then face an intriguing third-round clash versus 27th seed and home favourite Gabriel Diallo, before a projected fourth-round encounter against 15th seed Arthur Fils.
If that was not tricky enough of an early pathway for the world No 4, Fritz could then face sixth seed and 2024 runner-up Andrey Rublev in the last eight.
However, the Russian himself faces a tough projected round-three encounter versus 28th seed Lorenzo Sonego, with 12th seed and Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik his projected opponent in round four.
Should Fritz ultimately progress to his first Canadian Open semi-final, he is projected to take on world No 8 Shelton, who is up as the fourth seed after a string of withdrawals.
Shelton’s campaign will begin in round two against either a qualifier or Marcos Giron, with a potential clash versus compatriot and 25th seed Brandon Nakashima in round three.
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The world No 8 is then projected to take on 13th seed Flavio Cobolli in round four, before a potential quarter-final against seventh seed and fellow US ace Frances Tiafoe.
Tiafoe could face a challenging third-round clash against 31st seed Cameron Norrie, who beat the American at Wimbledon, before a potential fourth round against ninth seed Alex de Minaur.
The top half of the draw is highlighted by Alexander Zverev, who is projected to take on second seed Fritz in the final.
In the absence of world No 1 Jannik Sinner and No 2 Carlos Alcaraz, world No 3 Zverev is the top seed in Canada, where he lifted the title back in 2017.
The German has not played since his shock round-one exit at Wimbledon and, will start his campaign against either Benjamin Bonzi or Adam Walton in the second round.
On paper, it would initially appear that Zverev has been handed a kinder draw than Fritz early on, with 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi his projected round-three opponent.
However, the world No 3 could also face rising star João Fonseca at the stage, and is expected to face 14th seed Francisco Cerundolo in round four – a man he holds a 0-3 record against.
Should Zverev navigate his way to the last eight, he is expected to face fifth seed Holger Rune.
Having withdrawn from the Citi DC Open due to injury, Rune could face the big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in round two, before taking on 29th seed Alexandre Muller in the third round.
The Dane could then face a tantalising fourth-round tie versus 10th seed Daniil Medvedev, though 18th seed and defending champion Alexei Popyrin also lurks in this part of the draw.
Also on the top half of the draw is third seed Lorenzo Musetti, who leads the second quarter of the bracket – and who is projected to take on Zverev in the semi-final.
Searching for form after recent injury issues, the Italian could face 26th seed Alex Michelsen in round three, before a potential fourth round versus 16th seed Tomas Machac.
Musetti is then projected to face eighth seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-final, with the Norwegian another player on the comeback trail.
Ruud is projected to take on 30th seed Nuno Borges in the third round, and 11th seed Karen Khachanov in the round of 16.
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