Five Canadians In Action At US Open Learn First Round Opponents

Felix Auger-Aliassime (photo: Florian Heer)

TORONTO, August 25, 2023 (Tennis Canada Press Release)

The main draw is set for the fourth and final Grand Slam of the 2023 tennis season, with at least seven Canadians set to hit the courts in New York at the US Open. Bianca Andreescu, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Rebecca Marino, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Milos Raonic will be the five Canadians competing in the singles main draw, with Vasek Pospisil still in qualifying action. In addition, Gabriela Dabrowski will play in women’s doubles, and Rob Shaw will play in the quad division.

Andreescu, who made history at the 2019 US Open by becoming the first Canadian to win a major singles title, will look to add another impressive performance at the tournament as she takes on world No.45 Lesia Tsurenko in the opening round. Andreescu’s path to the final could include a clash against fellow Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez in the second round before a matchup against world No. 9 Marketa Vondrousova in the third.

Fernandez had a brilliant run to the final at the US Open in 2021, defeating three of the top five seeds. If she manages to beat world No. 22 Ekaterina Alexandrova in her first-round matchup, and compatriot Andreescu in the second round, she could go on to face Carolina Garcia in the fourth round or world No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the quarter-final.

This will mark Marino’s fifth time playing in the main draw at the US Open. She will play against Patricia Maria Tig in the opening round and could have a tough task in the second round against Pegula, who recently was crowned champion at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.

To view the full women’s singles draw, please click here.

Auger-Aliassime enters the tournament as the No. 15 seed and will face American Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round. In 2021, Auger-Aliassime made a run to the semi-final of the US Open, dropping to the eventual champion Daniil Medvedev. If Auger-Aliassime hopes to make a similar run this year, he would likely have to get past world No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.

Raonic utilized his protected ranking to enter the tournament, hoping to build off an impressive run at the National Bank Open earlier in August that saw him upset top 10 player Frances Tiafoe in the opening round. Raonic will have to channel another upset, as he’s set to face No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round. If he pulls it off, he could find himself having to get past Taylor Fritz in the fourth round as well. If he manages to make it to the quarter-final, he could face off against Djokovic or Auger-Aliassime. This will mark the first time since 2020 that Raonic will play the US Open, having made it as far as the fourth round in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018.

To view the full men’s singles draw, please click here.