Grand Slam tennis returns as the US Open gets underway on Monday on TSN. Michael Gallo gets you set for tennis' return to the big stage.

Raonic ready for a deep run

What a week it was for Milos Raonic at the Western & Southern Open. As tennis returned from the COVID-19 break, it was the Canadian who played at an elite level – maybe as good as he has ever played – where he reached his first ATP final in over a year. Raonic was beaten by his nemesis Novak Djokovic whom he is now a career 0-11 head-to-head against, however he had some incredible wins along the way. Victories over Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas plus an unlikely comeback against Filip Krajinovic in the quarter-finals highlighted his run and he goes into the US Open feeling confident and most importantly, healthy. Raonic gets No. 118 Leonardo Mayer in the first round and a showdown with Roberto Bautista Agut looms in the third round, who Raonic owns a career 5-0 record against. It’s the first time the 29-year old comes into the US Open feeling fresh without a busy summer on the court so he might finally make a deep run in New York. ESPN tennis analyst Darren Cahill picked Raonic as his third favourite after Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev.

 

More success for Shapo in New York?

It seems like ages ago when Denis Shapovalov made the fourth round at the US Open in 2017 as an 18-year old. That run remains his best result at a grand slam even with nine tournaments that have followed, but it’s in New York where he’s enjoyed the most success. He’s made it to the third round in all three of his US Open appearances enjoying a 7-3 record, the only slam where he won more than 50 per cent of his matches. Shapovalov won his opening match at the Western & Southern Open against former US Open champion Marin Cilic, but then was defeated for the fourth straight time by Jan-Lennard Struff in the second round. The now 21-year-old has a great draw for the early rounds at the US Open, opening up against wildcard Sebastian Korda and his first projected seed in the third round is No. 19 Taylor Fritz. He is in Novak Djokovic’s section but that potential matchup wouldn’t be until the quarter-finals.

 

Felix feeling a major breakthrough

Like Shapavalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime went 1-1 at the Western & Southern Open where he beat Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round before being narrowly defeated by Tennys Sandgren in a final-set tiebreaker. Auger-Aliassime served for the match against Sandgren up 5-4 in the third set but was unable to close it out, something that he’s had some issues with in his young career. The former US Open junior champion has lost in the first round in back-to-back grand slams but now as a top-16 seed he will go into his first three matches as the favourite. Auger-Aliassime faces No. 82 Thiago Monteiro in the first round and could potentially face Andy Murray in the second which would be a showcase match for the tournament. The No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem is in the Canadian’s section of the draw but he struggled at the Western & Southern Open, dropping his only match and winning just three games so there is some potential for a run to the quarter-finals.

 

Vasek hoping momentum carries over

Vasek Pospisil was one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour in February before tennis went on hiatus. The 30-year-old beat four players ranked higher than him en route to making the final in Montpellier, then defeated the almost unbeatable Daniil Medvedev the following week in Rotterdam. A quarter-final run in Marseille was next for Pospisil before tennis stopped and unfortunately so did his momentum as the American hardcourt season was about to begin. Fast forward six months and Pospisil is hoping his play hasn’t missed a beat. He opted not to play qualifying at the Western & Southern Open and comes into the US Open without any ATP matches under his belt since February. He has a favourable opening matchup against Philipp Kohlschreiber but could face Raonic in the second round should they both win. Pospisil has been busy off the court in the days leading into the US Open after resigning from the ATP player council and then forming the Professional Tennis Players Association alongside Novak Djokovic.

 

In-form Fernandez eyes first slam match win

For the second consecutive grand slam, Leylah Fernandez is the only Canadian woman represented in the singles draw. With Bianca Andreescu out injured, Fernandez has been in the spotlight and played very well to start 2020 and is one of the WTA’s top newcomers on tour. The 17-year old made her first WTA final in Acapulco and then the quarter-finals in Monterrey before the tennis season shut down. Her ranking skyrocketed from No. 209 in January to No. 104 going into the US Open, and is a win away from cracking the top-100. Fernandez got two tournaments in this summer, winning three matches in Lexington and two at the Western & Southern Open and appears to have not missed a beat from her great play back in February. She’ll face veteran Vera Zvonareva in her US Open debut on Tuesday and can potentially face Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the second round.