The Round of 16 kicks off on Saturday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
Stardust will be in the air all around the women’s draw in Toronto, where some huge names are hitting the court. With all the upsets on the men’s side, there won’t be as much wattage in Montreal, but the day still offers some intriguing matchups.
Here are some things to keep an eye on during the first day of the weekend.
Huge women’s stars in action
Six of the eight women in singles action on Saturday are top-10 players at the tournament. The most intriguing matchup may be six-time grand slam champion Iga Swiatek of Poland (ranked No. 7) taking on 10th-ranked Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine.
Another matchup of top-10 players will see Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina (No. 9) squaring off against No. 8-ranked American Amanda Anisimova. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is also looking to advance, as she hits the court against fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 16)
Can Norrie keep it going?
The story of the men’s draw has been upsets and Cameron Norrie was a part of that on Thursday when he ousted third-ranked Aussie Alex de Minaur. Now, the unranked Norrie will be looking for his fourth victory at the NBO when he takes on No. 18-ranked Arthur Fils of France. The 30-year-old Norrie has battled some injuries in the past couple of years, but the Brit was ranked No. 8 in the world in 2022, when he reached the semifinals at Wimbledon.
Canadian content
It’s been a rough NBO for the Canadian men, but Alexis Galarneau and Duncan Chan will try to give the locals something to cheer for in Montreal when they take on Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France and German Kevin Krawietz in doubles action. Hebert and Krawietz are ranked eighth in the draw, so the wild-card Canadian entry will have their hands full looking for their second victory of the tourney.
Broadcast schedule (all times ET)
Women’s 12:30 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+); 7 p.m. (Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+)
Men’s 12:30 p.m. (Sportsnet, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet+); 6 p.m. (Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+)
Match schedule (all times ET)
Women’s, in Toronto
Centre Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[10] Marta Kostyuk (UKR) vs [7] Iga Swiatek (POL)
[3] Jessica Pegula USA vs [15] Diana Shnaider
Not before 7 p.m.
[1] Aryna Sabalenka vs [16] Ekaterina Alexandrova
[9] Elina Svitolina (UKR) vs [8] Amanda Anisimova (USA)
Grandstand (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Ann Li (USA) / Clara Tauson (DEN) vs Ingrid Neel (EST) / Giuliana Olmos (MEX)
[5] Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) / Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) vs Ulrikke Eikeri (NOR) / Quinn Gleason (USA)
Not before 4 p.m.
[1] K. Siniakova / S. Zhang (CHN) vs Coco Gauff (USA) / Caty McNally (USA)
Xinyu Jiang (CHN) / Fang-Hsien Wu (TPE) vs [6] Elise Mertens (BEL) / Diana Shnaider
Court 4 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[7] Ellen Perez (AUS) / Demi Schuurs (NED) vs Asia Muhammad (USA) / Fanny Stollar HUN
Miyu Kato (JPN) / Liudmila Samsonova vs [3] Sara Errani (ITA) / Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA)
Storm Hunter (AUS) / Desirae Krawczyk (USA) vs Hao-Ching Chan (TPE) / Maya Joint (AUS)
Men’s, in Montreal
Centre Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Nuno Borges (POR) vs [19] Luciano Darderi (ITA)
[23] Arthur Rinderknech (FRA) vs [28] Brandon Nakashima (USA)
Not before 6 p.m.
[8] Jiri Lehecka (CZE) vs [20] Rafael Jodar (ESP)
[18] Arthur Fils (FRA) vs Cameron Norrie (GBR)
Rogers Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Adam Pavlasek (CZE) / Patrik Rikl (CZE) vs Sadio Doumbia (FRA) / Fabien Reboul (FRA)
Fabian Marozsan (HUN) / Daniil Medvedev vs Hugo Nys (MON) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
Not before 5 p.m.
[8] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) / Kevin Krawietz (GER) vs [WC] Duncan Chan (CAN) / Alexis Galarneau (CAN)
Orlando Luz (BRA) / Rafael Matos (BRA) vs Francisco Cabral (POR) / JJ Tracy (USA)
Court 5 (starts 12:30 p.m.)
Theo Arribage (FRA) / Albano Olivetti (FRA) vs Jakob Schnaitter (GER) / Mark Wallner (GER)
Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) / Lorenzo Musetti (ITA) vs [7] Guido Andreozzi (ARG) / Manuel Guinard (FRA)
[1] Harri Heliovaara (FIN) / Henry Patten (GBR) vs Andre Goransson (SWE) / Casper Ruud (NOR)
