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The sixth ATP Masters 1000 event of the season will see the ATP Tour's best compete at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Here's what you need to know ahead of the tournament in Toronto:

When is the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The 2023 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers will be held from 7-13 August. The hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament, established in 1881, will take place at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, Canada. The tournament director is Karl Hale.

Who is playing at the 2023 National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The Toronto field will feature World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune and more.

When is the draw for the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers?

The Toronto draw will be made Friday 4 August at 4:30 p.m.

Last November, Brandon Nakashima hit his greatest height. The American captured the Next Gen ATP Finals title, previously won by Hyeon Chung, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Each of those players quickly vaulted to the top of the sport, either by reaching a major semi-final or cracking the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Nakashima has taken the slower approach to his climb since emerging victorious in Milan. Entering his second-round match of the Mubadala Citi DC Open against former World No. 1 Andy Murray, the American is 9-13 on the season. Whereas some players would be antsy to continue their ascent, Nakashima is patient.

“I always thought to myself that you're always going to have some good results, you're going to have some bad results,” Nakashima said. “But at the end of the day, it's important to keep developing your game and staying healthy out there. And if I keep doing that and keep enjoying it, I'm sure my time will come and I'll have those opportunities.”

It has not simply been a case of disappointing results this year for the 21-year-old Californian. At the end of the preseason, Nakashima began to feel pain in his left knee. Despite not being 100 per cent, he competed in Australia to begin the season in the hopes of playing some matches.

The pain lingered through the early months of the year, so Nakashima and his team decided to take off time after Miami to physically recover and get his body right.

Home favourite and 2019 champion Dominic Thiem reached his third quarter-final on clay this year after rallying from a first-set beatdown against Zhang Zhizhen at the Generali Open in Kitzbuehel Wednesday.

Thiem took time to adjust to starkly different conditions to the night match he played on Tuesday before pulling away to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 win. The 29-year-old Austrian crushed a trademark down-the-line fadeaway backhand from deep behind the baseline to break in the opening game of the third set and never relinquished his lead.

"The first set was so tough, with completely different conditions to last night. I felt it was 15 degrees warmer and the ball was bouncing completely different. I didn't know what was going on and it felt that he was playing so fast," said Thiem, who did not offer up a break point in the final two sets.

"I just tried to put the first set out of my head and start the match from zero. I had a pretty good start to the second set and that was the turnaround today.

"He was playing very fast, very flat, and if I wasn't aggressive enough he would put me away, like he did in the first set. So I tried to play more offensively and make him have more mistakes. I did a good job of that in sets two and three."

After a breakout 2022 season, Felix Auger-Aliassime will be the first to admit this year has not been perfect. But the Canadian, who is the third seed this week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, is using what some might view as a difficult campaign as a learning experience to grow.

Despite struggling with knee pain in recent months, the No. 12 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings has remained positive.

“You've never heard of an athlete that never had injuries, especially tennis players who play a lot. It's a tough sport physically, so there's for sure going to be injuries at some point in a career,” Auger-Aliassime said. “And looking back, I feel like I was fortunate enough that the last three or four years I never had a serious injury. And even now, this one this year wasn't so serious, but just one that I was dealing with some pain for quite a long time, a few months. And I always try to take the positive out of it.”

Auger-Aliassime has not won consecutive matches since reaching the Indian Wells quarter-finals in March. His past two tournaments were at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, where he lost in the opening round as he struggled with his knee.

But the Canadian explained that dealing with the situation has allowed him to learn and help restructure to avoid future injuries.

Fifth seed Alex de Minaur passed a stern test Tuesday to begin his title quest at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo.

Amidst humid conditions, the 24-year-old defeated Tunisian qualifier Skander Mansouri 6-4, 6-4 after recovering from a break down twice in the second set. Despite making just 47 per cent of his first serves, De Minaur dropped four points behind his first delivery to advance at the ATP 250 tournament.

The World No. 19 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings broke Mansouri's serve at 5-4 in both sets and sealed the match after one hour, 45 minutes.

[ATP APP]

A seven-time tour-level titlist, De Minaur's opening-round victory in Los Cabos marks his 180th tour-level match win. The Sydney-native has not lost in the first round of any tournament this season.

Radu Albot’s life is about far more than tennis. These days, it is focussed on his daughter, three-year-old Adeline.

A prime example of that came at Wimbledon. After Albot won a match in qualifying, young Adeline ran onto the court to congratulate her father.

“They asked me, How does it feel winning and I was holding her in my hands during the interview,” Albot recalled. “I said when you have a daughter like this, winning or losing doesn't matter. So at the end of the day, I guess even when you lose, and you're playing with your kid, it just puts your mood up and you forget about everything.”

Albot won his first ATP Tour title at Delray Beach in 2019 and later that year climbed to a career-high No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. But his most impactful moment in recent years came when Adeline was born.

“It changed me of course. So much more responsibility. When you're home, there [are many] more things to do and it's around her,” Albot said. “The world is around her now. So in the morning, I was waking up before and I was doing my stuff. Now, first thing I do, I go to wake her up when I'm home. I go put the clothes on, my wife is preparing breakfast, we eat and we go to the kindergarten.

Frances Tiafoe was not the only local star inside the Stadium at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday night. NBA superstar Kevin Durant was in attendance to watch the American’s 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory over Aslan Karatsev.

After the match, the two shared a nice embrace on court. Durant joined Tiafoe and stadium emcee Rennae Stubbs for an interview on court. How is Durant’s tennis game?

“Mine is nonexistent,” Durant said, cracking a laugh. “But there was a lot of energy in the building tonight. It was exciting, I’m glad he got the win.”

"He's just bringing that energy from this area... we're all proud of him."

NBA legend @KDTrey5 with some love for @FTiafoe at @mubadalacitidc ? pic.twitter.com/bjtwZIvaVc

Durant was sure to point out the impact Tiafoe is making on his local community. The American last year made the US Open semi-finals and this June cracked the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The fans showed their appreciation for Tiafoe’s efforts all night long and helped push him to his win.

Cheered on by NBA legend Kevin Durant, American Frances Tiafoe opened his Mubadala Citi DC Open campaign with a tight 7-6(5), 7-6(5) win against Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday.

The second seed Tiafoe, who has claimed titles in Houston and Stuttgart this year, thrilled the home crowd with his shotmaking ability throughout the two-hour, nine-minute contest and absorbed Karatsev's firepower to advance at the ATP 500 event. 

Playing in his first match since Wimbledon, the 25-year-old Tiafoe fought off a set point on serve at 5-4 in the second set to avoid going the distance and later in the tie-break, he won four consecutive points after falling behind 3/5.

[ATP APP]

"Unbelievable match tonight. It was so tight all the way through, he really made me earn it," Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. "I'm just happy to get through. He's a tough player, he's made the semis of a Grand Slam and he's very, very dangerous. Very tough first round." 

Let's not call it a resurgence, but Dominic Thiem took another important step towards rebuilding his career at the Generali Open Tuesday.

Cheered on by a raucous home crowd, the 2020 US Open champion survived the first round for the third consecutive tour-level event and claimed his 10th match win of the year with a dramatic 7-6(3), 7-6(6) win in two hours and 22 minutes over Argentine Facundo Bagnis.

It may sound like a modest milestone for a Grand Slam champion, but the Austrian is taking nothing for granted in 2023 after losing nine of the first 10 matches he played this season.

The 2019 Kitzbuehel champion and 2014 finalist staved off five set points on serve in the 10th game of the opening set and another two set points in the second-set tie-break.

Thiem, who served 10 aces, trailed 2-4 before a lengthy rain delay interrupted the match. He immediately broke back when the match resumed and played an aggressive brand of tennis to push on to victory.

Two weeks, two wins for Shang Juncheng against Ben Shelton.

In a battle of #NextGenATP stars, 18-year-old Shang defeated home favourite Shelton 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 on Tuesday to reach the third round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open.

“I’m definitely very happy right now,” Shang told ATPTour.com. “Ben is not an easy player to beat. I think I've got a game that kind of suits me to playing him."

[ATP APP]

Last week, Shang eliminated Shelton 6-4, 6-4 at the Atlanta Open. One week later, he broke his opponent’s serve five times from nine chances to triumph in three sets after one hour and 42 minutes.

Kei Nishikori withdrew from the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday due to a left knee injury. The Japanese star was replaced in the draw by Sho Shimabukuro, who will face South African Lloyd Harris.

The 33-year-old returned from a 20-month absence in June, when he won an ATP Challenger Tour title in Puerto Rico. He won eight of his 10 Challenger-level matches before returning to ATP Tour action last week in Atlanta.

[ATP APP]

The former World No. 4 showed his good form at the Atlanta Open, an ATP 250 event, where he made the quarter-finals with straight-sets victories over Jordan Thompson and Shang Juncheng. 

Nishikori owns an 18-7 record in Washington, where he won the title in 2015 and has reached two additional semi-finals. His most recent appearance in Washington came in 2021.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Starting to get used to hearing the name Alcaraz? Its place on Tour may be even more assured than anyone imagined.

While Carlos Alcaraz has been impressing fans the world over with his meteoric rise to becoming the youngest No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings history, his biggest fan has been watching on from home.

His brother Jaime, at just 12 years of age the youngest of the four Alcaraz Garfia siblings, won a Rafa Nadal Tour heat this week in the under-12 category in Madrid. In a 48-player draw at the Club Internacional de Tenis Monte del Pilar, the Murcia native enjoyed a successful campaign, turning plenty of heads along the way.

[ATP APP]

Will the fresh mountain air power Zhang Zhizhen to an impressive debut this week at the Generali Open?

The World No. 53 will step on court against Dusan Lajovic on Tuesday as the first Chinese player to compete in the 79-year history of the Kitzbühel event. The ATP 250 takes place against the stunning backdrop of the Austrian Alps, and Zhang took a break in his preparations to visit the famous nearby Hahnenkamm mountain.

“It’s my first time here in Kitzbühel. They have very good views,” said Zhang. “For winter they have ski racing here. It’s impressive to see the ski jumping from here, which for me would be impossible."

Photo Credit: Generali Open | Alexander Scheuber

A highlight of the Hahnenkamm is the famous Streif downhill course, one of the most demanding on the professional skiing circuit. Zhang expressed a desire to return to Kitzbühel in winter to see the area under snow.

John Isner held firm in the face of a late Rinky Hijikata comeback Monday to kick-start his 2023 campaign at the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo with a 6-2, 7-6(4) victory in Los Cabos.

The big-serving Isner led Hijikata 6-2, 5-3 at the hard-court ATP 250 before the Australian ramped up the pressure by forcing a second-set tie-break in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. Hijikata then forged an immediate 3/0 lead to boost his chances of forcing a deciding set on the Mexican Pacific coast, but Isner claimed seven of the final eight points to pull through in one hour and 54 minutes.

“It’s a lot of relief. I felt like the match could have been a little bit easier at the end, but my opponent started to play a bit better,” said Isner in his on-court interview. “He made me play and I got a little tight. That’s what happens in tennis. I’m happy to win.”

It was a 350th tour-level hard-court victory for Isner, who hit 31 winners, including 19 aces. Now 8-11 for the 2023 season, the 16-time tour-level titlist will next face top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at an event where he reached the semi-finals in 2021.

“We have played each other a bunch,” said Isner, when asked about the Tsitsipas clash. “I think I won the first couple of times and he’s won the last five, so I’m going to try to turn that around.

Former World No. 6 Gael Monfils collected just his second tour-level win of the season and first since Roland Garros when he defeated American Bjorn Fratangelo 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open Monday night in Washington, D.C.

Taking up residence deep behind the baseline, the 36-year-old Frenchman used his speed and athleticism to build a defensive wall that the 30-year-old Pittsburgh native was unable to penetrate on his 2023 main-draw tour-level debut. En route to his 527th match win, Monfils also delighted fans with two signature slam-dunk smashes.

Monfils, who at No. 323 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings needed a wild card into the main draw, withdrew from the second round of his home Grand Slam with a left wrist injury and played his first match since Roland Garros last week in Atlanta.

[ATP APP]

"It's great to be back in Washington. I love the support here. I started strong and it's another good match under my belt," said Monfils, who received a post-match congratulatory kiss from wife, WTA Tour star Elina Svitolina, who also picked up a win Monday.

Sebastian Korda remembers when he was a junior running around the grounds of the Mubadala Citi DC Open. His father, Petr Korda, coached Radek Stepanek, the 2011 champion

Now 'Sebi' is not running around the lounge and locker room, but attracting fans to the court with his powerful game. The 23-year-old is the eighth seed this week at the ATP 500 event.

“Washington has to be one of my favourite stops definitely on tour, just kind of being here as a 12, 13 and 14-year-old kid with my dad and Radek Stepanek,” Korda told ATPTour.com. “Just to kind of experience everything was really cool. Being in the locker room for the first time and just being around the players, I have a lot of great memories from this tournament. It's definitely very special.”

On Sunday, the American was cooling down on a bike in the players’ gym when he noticed a photo of his mentor, former World No. 1 Andre Agassi, on signage outside.

“I sent him a selfie with me and him with the plaque in the back,” Korda said. “He's just a very special person to me. He's obviously kind of tennis royalty in a way and just to have someone like that in my corner, I think it's pretty special.”

Treat Huey was honoured Monday evening at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in recognition of his retirement from professional tennis. The eight-time ATP Tour doubles titlist’s career came to a close Saturday evening when he lost alongside Marcos Giron in qualifying at the ATP 500.

“It's definitely pretty emotional. Saturday night when we lost, coming off the court I had a tear or two. But yeah, it was something I absolutely enjoyed, and had the greatest time ever playing on Tour,” Huey said. “Growing up as a kid, I was like, ‘I’d love to be good enough to play this tournament one time’, and ended up playing it a couple times, winning it once. So it was an absolute dream come true.

“It was amazing I played for 14, 15 years, so I had an amazing time.”

Photo: ATP Tour
Huey, a Filipino from Washington who played college tennis at the University of Virginia, was joined on Stadium Court by several colleagues and staff members from the ATP Tour and the tournament, including tournament chairman Mark Ein.

“That's what I loved about being on the Tour, making a tonne of friends from all over the world and really enjoying that part of travelling together [to] different tournaments and experiencing different parts of the world and playing tennis everywhere,” Huey said. “Competing against everybody, you might not like each other here on the court sometimes, but we all understand it. So it's a good competitive sport.

Shang Juncheng began his season in the best possible fashion. Then 17, the Chinese #NextGenATP star qualified for his first major at the Australian Open and then won a match in the main draw. The dynamic lefty was charging up the Pepperstone ATP Rankings like a freight train.

But in the weeks following the tournament, the Shang train came to a screeching halt. The teen suffered from mononucleosis.

“You're doing something you love every day, and all of a sudden, you don't get to do it. I think that's not the best feeling for three or four months,” Shang, who is competing this week in the Mubadala Citi DC Open, told ATPTour.com. “But I got through it, I pushed myself, my team and [those] around me helped me, and we got through that. Now we're here, back on Tour again.”

After his big breakthrough in Melbourne, Shang won just one match at any level until Roland Garros. From the second week in April until the clay-court major, he did not compete at all, leaving him plenty of downtime in Florida as he recovered.

“Most of the time, [I was] very bored. I was on TV watching those guys compete. It was fun. I learned a lot of stuff,” Shang said. “Mostly, I was going to the golf course almost every day. That's probably one of the best moments to play golf, in the time off.”

Daniel Evans and Andy Murray thrilled a packed Grandstand Monday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where they ousted doubles stars Austin Krajicek and Mate Pavic 6-3, 6-4.

The wild cards were cool under the intense sun, saving three of the four break points they faced against the second seeds to advance after one hour and 17 minutes.

Evans and Murray last competed together at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. This is Murray’s first doubles appearance of the season.

In other action, Hubert Hurkacz and Frances Tiafoe eliminated Christopher Eubanks and Sebastian Korda 2-6, 7-6(9), 10-7. The Polish-American duo saved one match point, at 8/9 in the second-set tie-break, when Hurkacz put away a forehand volley.

Roberto Carballes Baena made a confident start to his bid for a second clay-court crown of the season on Monday at the Generali Open, where the Spaniard downed Guido Pella 6-2, 6-4 to advance in Kitzbühel.

Carballes Baena assumed control early of the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting since 2019, reeling off five games in a row from 1-2 to claim the first set. A solitary break in the second set proved enough for the World No. 59 to complete a 71-minute victory and reach the second round for the third time in four appearances at the ATP 250 in the Austrian Alps.

“I think I played a really good match,” said the sixth-seeded Spaniard in his on-court interview. “It was not easy for me because I only practised yesterday, but I think I served very well and I played very aggressively.”

SUPER impressive ?

No. 6 seed @Robertocarba93 takes a commanding 6-2 lead over Pella.#GeneraliOpen pic.twitter.com/FNbZ8f7EZG

Carballes Baena rose to a career-high No. 49 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in April after claiming his second tour-level title in Marrakech. The 30-year-old is now 18-18 for the year and feeling confident as he looks to forge a deep run on the clay of Kitzbühel.