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After seven months of the 2024 season, a seven-pronged battle for eighth place has emerged in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

The world’s top players are preparing for an ATP Masters 1000 doubleheader at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal and the Cincinnati Open. Several members of the chasing pack will be keen to give a mid-season boost to their chances of booking a spot at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 10-17 November.

With plenty of points available across Montreal and Cincinnati, the Live Race may well look completely different in two weeks’ time. As things stand, just 575 points separate Stefanos Tsitsipas in eighth (the final qualification spot for the prestigious season finale) and 14th-placed Lorenzo Musetti.

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

The champion on his Nitto ATP Finals debut in 2019, Tsitsipas is chasing his sixth consecutive appearance at the season-ending showpiece. He lifted his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown in April but has not won a match at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers since 2021. He reached the final on event debut in Toronto in 2018, however, and is also a former Cincinnati finalist (2022). Tsitsipas knows that a big two weeks in North America could distance himself from the chasing pack.

One of the most difficult moments to watch at Wimbledon was the end of Hubert Hurkacz’s second-round match against Arthur Fils. People say a picture is worth a thousand words and that was the case looking at the pain of the Polish star’s face.

The 27-year-old dove for a ball, giving his absolute maximum effort as he always does. When Hurkacz tried to get up from the awkward position he was in, he tore the meniscus in his right knee and retired late in the fourth set.

A video that Hurkacz later posted showed the eight-time ATP Tour titlist sitting on a bench next to ball kids in the immediate aftermath sporting a look of concern, with a hand on his knee.

“Right after I knew something happened because it was painful and we needed to figure out how bad it was and just get as much information [as we could],” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “It was difficult because after the scan I didn't know when I was going to be back, if I was going to be playing this year or if I was going to reach my normal level. So it was definitely a challenging time.”

Hurkacz spoke to several doctors, almost all of whom said he would be out of competition until next year. Yet after undergoing surgery and working through an intensive rehab process with his physio Kuba and fitness coach Przemek, Hurkacz is ready to compete this week at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal.

Kei Nishikori showed flashes of his vintage best Tuesday when he overcame #NextGenATP teen Alex Michelsen 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

By defeating the World No. 55 Michelsen, it marks the 34-year-old’s first win at ATP Masters 1000 level since 2021 Indian Wells and his highest-ranked victory since Washington that year.

"It's been a long time," Nishikori said with a smile in his on-court interview. "It means a lot, especially the way I played in the third set. First and second set, many ups and downs and I was missing a lot of balls. Third set, I was playing pretty good tennis I think, good defence and when I needed to, I was having good movement and playing aggressive. It was working really well."

Nishikori consistently struck deep returns to pressure the 19-year-old American's serve, converting four of his 12 break chances. The former World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings earned a decisive break to clinch the second set and repeated that feat to close the match after two hours, 33 minutes. Competing in his fifth tournament this year across all levels, Nishikori crushed 22 forehand winners, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"I just needed to keep believing in myself, that's the only thing I can do. To be aggressive, start hitting more forehands and backhands [down the] line. I think that started working well in the second set," said Nishikori, who has won 12 tour-level titles.

Twenty-seven-year-old Alejandro Tabilo grew up in Toronto, where his parents Ricardo and Maria met. The Chilean moved from Canada to Florida when he was 13, but some of his earliest memories stick with him most. After stunning then-World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Rome earlier this year, Tabilo thought back to those early days.

“I just started thinking about [when I was] here in Canada, where in the mornings I would go with my mom to practise,” Tabilo told ATPTour.com. “Or after coming back from school, my dad would be waiting right outside the bus and we would go straight to a park and play a little bit of tennis… All those little memories when I was a little kid and [not it has] come to this, which is what we worked for our entire lives.”

Tabilo is living his dream. The energetic lefty has enjoyed a breakthrough year on the ATP Tour, reaching a career-high No. 19 in the PIF ATP Rankings last month. Before 2024, he had never ranked high than No. 64.

But on Tuesday evening, the 15th seed will walk onto Court Central in Montreal to compete in the Omnium Banque Nationale Presente par Rogers for the first time. His match against Frances Tiafoe is a moment that he has waited for since before becoming a teenager.

Tabilo cannot remember exactly when he trained at Parc Jarry, the venue for the tournament, but he believes he was between eight and 10 years old. The Chilean practised at the home of the Montreal ATP Masters 1000 event for “maybe a month”, staying at a friend’s house while in town.

A lot of the attention during the 2024 season has gone to Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Sinner won his first major at the Australian Open and completed his ascent to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Alcaraz triumphed at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and Djokovic just earned his maiden gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

But quietly, Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed a consistent season. The former World No. 1 is fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is now entering the part of the season that has historically been when he performs best.

Seeded third at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, this year’s Australian Open finalist and Wimbledon semi-finalist will try to claim his first title of the year.

“I think the thing always about my seasons is that a lot of times when I come to this stage, which is Canada, whatever happened before doesn't matter too much because that's really usually the best part of the season for me,” Medvedev told ATPTour.com. “So to be honest, I'm pretty happy with my season. I had some good results and good runs, some actually good wins. What I'm not happy [with] in a way is I don't have a title, but I'm playing [well at] the biggest tournaments and I lost to some great guys.”

It is not that Medvedev has failed to advance deep into tournaments. The 28-year-old is 35-11 for the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index and reached finals in Melbourne and Indian Wells.

Two years ago when Pablo Carreno Busta watched the draw for the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, he was in disbelief. The Spaniard, then No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings, had drawn Matteo Berrettini, who earlier that year had reached World No. 6, in the first round.

“I wrote to my friends on WhatsApp and I said, 'Come on, this is crazy, the Masters 1000s. I am 23rd in the world and I play in the first round against Berrettini’,” Carreno Busta told ATPTour.com. “Come on, in the first round? I'm 23rd in the world and I have to play against Matteo?”

That week proved to be the best of Carreno Busta’s career. The mild-mannered Gijon-native not only defeated Berrettini, but went on to claim his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy, making memories for a lifetime in Montreal.

When Carreno Busta returned to Jarry Park a few days ago for the first time since that glorious week, his mindset was nowhere near the same. The 33-year-old has not played for most of the past year and a half due to elbow tendonitis.

“It's very special, of course, because I won two years ago here in Montreal, my first ATP Masters 1000. But also it's very special because the last year and a half, I was out of the Tour because of an injury,” Carreno Busta said. “To be here again is very important to me. To be on the Tour again after this long time, I didn't know if would be possible to continue playing tennis or not.”

Montreal native Gabriel Diallo grew up watching countryman Milos Raonic hammer aces and crush monstrous forehands. The eight-time tour-level titlist's explosive service motion and winding forehand assisted Raonic in becoming Canada’s highest-ranked player in history, climbing to No. 3 in 2016. Eight years on, the 22-year-old Diallo likes to study the 2016 Wimbledon finalist.

Though the six-foot-eight Diallo’s technique is uniquely different than Raonic’s, the principle remains the same: big man, first-strike tennis. The former University of Kentucky standout, who turned pro in December 2022, has found inspiration from watching the success of players such as fellow former collegiate player, 6’7” Christopher Eubanks, and 6’5” Raonic.

“Chris [Eubanks] is someone I’ve been compared to a lot, especially in college because I was very tall, very lanky,” Diallo told commentator Mike Cation at the Chicago Men’s Challenger. “Chris and I are both big servers and we look for our forehands.

“For me, the greatest to ever do it in terms of serve plus-one is Milos Raonic. I watched a lot of Milos growing up. I still watch a lot of matches from before, from now. I think watching those types of players is a real eye-opener for me.”

Diallo eight days ago won the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Chicago, where he fired 17 aces in the final to remain unbroken across five matches en route to lifting his third title at that level.

Jannik Sinner may be in Montreal focusing on preparations for this week’s Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, but that did not stop the World No. 1 from taking some time on Sunday to tune into one of the most gripping finals in Olympic Tennis Event history.

Despite his disappointment at missing Paris 2024 due to tonsilitis, Sinner joined millions of fans around the world in enjoying the latest Lexus ATP Head2Head clash between two of his biggest rivals, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

“It was a very high-level match, I think everyone agrees with that,” said Sinner on Monday, when asked for his key takeaways from Djokovic’s victory after two tie-break sets. “It was a very physical match. When two of the best players in the world face each other at the moment, they produce something very special, so it was a pleasure to watch this kind of match and I think everyone really enjoyed. We don't see this level every day, so it was an amazing match.”

As a 14-time tour-level champion, Sinner has become increasingly accustomed to the feeling of clinching a title. The 22-year-old ended his wait for a maiden Grand Slam title at January’s Australian Open, but he was quick to recognise the unique circumstances of Djokovic’s Olympic gold, a prize that had until Sunday eluded the Serbian across a career spanning nearly two decades.

“Of course I understand [his reaction], but I think he understands it more than anyone else,” said Sinner, when asked about Djokovic’s highly emotional celebrations after clinching the Career ‘Golden Slam’ in Paris. “He tried so hard to get this medal, which was the last thing he needed to accomplish. He knew this in his mind.

Sebastian Korda lifted the Mubadala Citi DC Open trophy on Sunday evening for the biggest title of his career, marking the end of a history-making week for the American.

The 24-year-old claimed his first ATP 500 crown, joining father Petr Korda on the event’s champions’ list. But he also became one of the first four ATP Tour players to wear a live microphone during a match. The innovation was part of the 2024 ATP Tour Doubles Trial.

Korda, doubles partner Alex Michelsen, Harri Heliovaara and Jamie Murray all participated. Heliovaara, who last month won the Wimbledon doubles title with Henry Patten, became the first player to wear the live mic in his first-round match.

The Finnish player also wore in his second-round match, a loss alongside Patten. Heliovaara explained that he is always happy to do what he can to promote doubles and the players, so it was an easy decision to participate once he felt comfortable with the equipment.

“I think we need personalities, more stars in the doubles part of this game and the microphones are a great way to make that a little easier on court. I felt very comfortable with the microphone, it didn't bother me at all, the technology. I didn't have to think anything if I'm saying something stupid or not,” Heliovaara said. “I’m pretty open about my tennis career anyway so I felt very comfortable with wearing the microphone.”

The best players in the world are set for the sixth ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Montreal.

World No. 1 and defending Toronto champion Jannik Sinner leads the field with Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev also in action. ATPTour.com looks at 10 storylines to watch over the coming week.

1) Defending Champion Sinner: After withdrawing from the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, the Italian will make his first appearance since the Wimbledon quarter-finals. Last year’s title run in Toronto marked Sinner’s first Masters 1000 crown. Now the 22-year-old returns to Canadian soil as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, boasting a 42-4 season record.

2) Zverev Aims For Second Title Of Season: The second seed Zverev has fond memories in Montreal, where he won the title in 2017. Zverev, who this year lifted the trophy at the Masters 1000 event in Rome, leads the ATP Tour this season with 44 match wins.

3) Can Medvedev Master Montreal?: The third seed has lightheartedly said that he is a hard-court specialist. Now back on his beloved surface for the first time since March in Miami, Medvedev is aiming for his first title since Rome last year. A six-time Masters 1000 titlist, the 28-year-old won the Canadian event in 2021, when the tournament was held in Toronto.

The North American hard-court swing continued at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, where Sebastian Korda won the title. ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Rankings as of Monday, 5 August.

No. 18 Sebastian Korda, +4 (Career High)
The 24-year-old has climbed into the Top 20 for the first time after he captured his second ATP Tour title and first since 2021 in Washington, where he became the first American man to win the trophy ATP 500 event since Andy Roddick in 2007. By triumphing, Korda also matched his father Petr Korda’s achievement of winning the D.C. title in 1992. The Kordas are the first father-son duo to win the same title in ATP Tour history. Korda now holds a 2-6 record in tour-level finals.

No. 33 Flavio Cobolli, +15 (Career High)
The Italian has jumped to a career-high after he reached his maiden tour-level final in Washington. Cobolli played four consecutive three-set matches, including the title match. The 22-year-old defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Alex Michelsen and Ben Shelton at the hard-court event.

No. 77 Alexandre Muller, +22
The 27-year-old has soared 22 spots after he won an ATP Challenger Tour title in San Marino. The Frenchman did not drop a set en route to the final and then beat Chun-Hsin Tseng in three sets. It is Muller’s third Challenger Tour crown.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 6 Hubert Hurkacz, +1 (Career High)
No. 12 Tommy Paul, +1 (Joint Career High)
No. 30 Jordan Thompson (Career High), +3
No. 55 Alex Michelsen, +5 (Joint Career High)
No. 71 Sumit Nagal, +4
No. 73 Federico Coria, +6
No. 74 Rinky Hijikata, +6
No. 75 Botic van de Zandschulp, +9
No. 81 Thanasi Kokkinakis, +10

While Novak Djokovic battled Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday in Paris for the Olympic singles gold medal, the rest of the ATP Tour’s stars were in Montreal, preparing for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Dozens watched the match in the players’ lounge, including No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner and his team.

After the match, the world’s best players were in awe of Djokovic’s accomplishment. The Serbian defeated Alcaraz to complete his set of ‘Big Titles’. He has won all four Grand Slam tournaments, all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, the Nitto ATP Finals and now the Olympic singles gold medal.

Holger Rune thought the match was “incredible”.

“I think if there's one person that deserves it so much, it's Novak. He's completed tennis in a way,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “He's taking tennis to another level. He's just the greatest. I take massive inspiration from him and I think he's a very nice guy as well.

“Novak is 37 now and winning the gold medal, I think it shows a little bit on the level he is producing. I think it's completely incredible. Hopefully we'll still see him a few more years on the Tour so we can compete against him.”

Playing in his eighth tour-level singles final, Sebastian Korda won his second and biggest title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 triumph filled with significance.

In becoming the first American man to win the Washington crown since Andy Roddick in 2007, the home favourite also matched his father, Petr Korda, who won the D.C. title in 1992. The Kordas are the first father-son duo to win the same title in ATP Tour history. Looking forward, the triumph set Korda up to rise to a career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 18 on Monday.

"I've been coming to this tournament since I was a teenager," the 24-year-old Korda said in his trophy speech. "My dad used to coach Radek Stepanek, who also won here in 2011. We have a lot of history with this tournament, and obviously one of my biggest goals was one day coming here and hopefully winning the tournament and putting my name up there on the stadium. Now that I have the opportunity, this is probably the most special moment of my career so far."

Show time ?@SebiKorda and Cobolli are delivering in DC!@mubadalacitidc | #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/1lnYkQ7HbE

After a two-hour delay due to rain and a three-set women's final, Korda dominated much of the match against first-time finalist Cobolli. But the Italian came up with one of the shots of the day on his first break point to snatch the opening set with a screaming forehand winner.

ATP Tour stars traded racquets for sticks on Saturday ahead of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in the annual ATP Masters 1000 Canada ball hockey game.

Nuno Borges, Luciano Darderi, Alexis Galarneau, Marcos Giron, Miomir Kecmanovic and Vasek Pospisil played a team of PWHL stars and a ball hockey pro in a thrilling game. The hockey standouts eventually won in a nail-biting shootout.

“It’s amazing. It was very humbling. It’s fun to play though,” Giron said. “We always play tennis, but I think all of us tennis players grew up playing other sports and it’s always fun to give it a shot in another thing. But the hockey stick does not quite feel like an extension of the arm like a tennis racquet does.”

Marcos Giron shoots on net during Saturday's game. 
Borges had never previously played hockey, but had a great time trying to learn the sport.

“The fact that we struggled so much, at least me, I wanted to keep playing to improve because I couldn’t hit the ball. It was really hard,” Borges said. “You’d think we’d have a little advantage just knowing how to handle a racquet as an extension, but the stick is totally different. It was fun trying out a new sport with all the different gear, the gloves. It’s cool experimenting with stuff. I had a lot of fun.”

Joao Fonseca etched his name in the record books Sunday when the 17-year-old became the youngest Brazilian to win an ATP Challenger Tour title.

The #NextGenATP star, who strengthened his claim on sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, did not drop a set en route to his Lexington Challenger triumph. Competing in his second final at that level, Fonseca showed no signs of nerves as he defeated Australian Li Tu 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the trophy. The teenager fell on his back in relief after securing the milestone victory.

"I’m really happy to win my first title. It means a lot to me," Fonseca told commentator Bryan Fenley. "One year after my first big title, which was the US Open juniors. I’m really, really happy. It was not easy. Really hard work back home. I really want to thank my coaches, my parents, they’ve supported me my whole life, not only incentivising me to play tennis, but also with being a good kid with maturity. It’s really nice.”

The Lexington Challenger has featured a trio of 17-year-old champions since 2019, including Jannik Sinner, current World No. 1, who won the hard-court event five years ago Sunday. China’s Shang Juncheng triumphed in 2022. Coincidentally, Fonseca is just one day younger than Sinner was when the Italian won in Lexington.

Lexington is where the future shines ?

2019 ? Jannik Sinner
2024 ? Joao Fonseca#OnTheRise | @atptour pic.twitter.com/WmB84yK0Pi

Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow have jumped into Nitto ATP Finals qualifying contention after claiming their second title in as many weeks in the final of the Mubadala Citi DC Open Sunday.

After winning in Atlanta last week, the pair defeated Brazilian duo Marcelo Melo and Rafael Matos 7-5, 6-3 in the final in Washington. They became the first all-American champions at the ATP 500 since Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in 2015.

"Lucky for us it was a little hot and we could kind of bring the heat today," Lammons said during the trophy ceremony. "Thanks to my partner Jackson. We got some good momentum going the last couple of weeks. We love playing here in the States."

The Americans put on a strong display of serving, winning 87 per cent of their first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats. They dropped just 10 points on serve and defended both break points against them en route to taking an eighth ATP Tour title as a pair.

After the home triumph, Withrow thanked the Washington fans for their support: "You guys have been amazing all week for us," he told the stadium crowd. "We feel the energy, we feel like you guys love doubles."

The long wait is over for Novak Djokovic.

After nearly two decades of consistently winning the biggest titles and breaking some of the most difficult records that tennis has to offer, the Serbian on Sunday finally added an Olympic gold medal to his sizeable collection of honours. Djokovic, who has long spoken of winning Olympic gold for his country as one of his most sought-after goals, was visibly emotional after overcoming Carlos Alcaraz in a gripping encounter in Paris.

“I’m overwhelmed with everything that I’m feeling right now,” said Djokovic in post-match comments to NBC. “Millions of different emotions of course: positive, too proud, too happy. The possibility to fight for a gold and to win a gold for the first time in my career for my country is arguably the biggest success I ever had.

“Of course, I want everything there is to win in my individual career, but winning Davis Cup and particularly the golden medal at an Olympic Games for Serbia at the age of thirty-seven is unprecedented. Just starting my celebration, I can’t wait for what’s coming up in the next forty-eight hours.”

37 years old.
Olympic #GOLD medalist.

#Paris2024 | #tennis pic.twitter.com/TefOG3XT2N

There was no golden ending for Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Yet despite his disappointment at his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the gold-medal match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the Olympic flame inside the Spaniard remains well and truly alight.

"I always want to win, that’s for sure, but taking the silver medal, I have to be really proud,” said Alcaraz in post-match comments made to NBC. “I’m building a really great career and I hope it’s going to keep going.

“Honestly, I’m pretty proud to be in this position, I’m pretty proud to bring a medal to Spain. I’m pretty sure that my moment will come, and I will bring the gold medal to Spain one day. So I’m going to wait for that moment and I’m going to work for that moment, but right now I have to enjoy lifting the silver medal, it’s pretty amazing as well.”

Your #Paris2024 Men's Singles Olympic Medalists ?

? @DjokerNole ??
? @carlosalcaraz ??
? @Lorenzo1Musetti ??#Olympics | #tennis pic.twitter.com/4qY4HY5nt2

Alcaraz has good reason to feel confident about the future. Sunday’s loss was a rare low moment in what has otherwise been a largely stellar year for the Spaniard. He lifted his third and fourth major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, respectively, while he also lifted his fifth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells in March.

Novak Djokovic once again rewrote the record books on Sunday at the Paris Olympics. 

The 37-year-old defeated Carlos Alcaraz in a scintillating gold-medal match to claim his first Olympics gold medal. By doing so, the Serbian has now won every 'Big Title' up for offer and completed the Career Golden Slam.

Djokovic owns 72 'Big Titles', which are a combination of Grand Slam championships, trophies at the Nitto ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, and Olympic singles gold medals. The Serbian has claimed at least one Big Title in 16 of the past 18 seasons.

No other player has won Olympic singles gold, a major and all nine Masters 1000 events. The Serbian owns the standalone men's record for championships at Grand Slams (24), Nitto ATP Finals (7) and Masters 1000s (40). 

The Olympics have long been Djokovic's white whale. A bronze medalist in Beijing, the Serbian finished fourth in London and Tokyo. After losing to Alcaraz in straight sets last month in the Wimbledon final, he flipped the script in Paris. 

Novak Djokovic completed his wish list on Sunday when he finally claimed an Olympic gold medal for the first time with his win against Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Paris Olympics.

Stars from inside and outside the tennis world quickly congratulated the Serbian. NBA star Luka Doncic, actor Matthew McConaughey, Juan Martin del Potro, Martina Navratilova and plenty more were among those who took to social media after the match ended.

ATPTour.com looks at some of those posts below.

??? @DjokerNole

GOAT wins GOLD. congratulations @DjokerNole