Rogers Cup: 5 things to look for
Raonic's first action since Wimbledon, Djokovic looking to bounce back
The Rogers Cup lost some lustre this week with the withdrawals of top players on both the men's and women's side.
Top-ranked Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal have all withdrawn from the men's draw, which will be played at Toronto's Aviva Centre at York University. On the women's side, played at Montreal's Uniprix Stadium, defending champion Belinda Bencic and Victoria Azarenka have said they will not play
But despite the loss of star power, there are still plenty of reasons to tune into this year's tournament.
Here are five storylines to follow heading into the Rogers Cup:
Wimbledon encore?
Milos Raonic returns home following his first career Grand Slam final appearance, a three-set loss to Murray at Wimbledon. The Rogers Cup will mark his first action since then and he's already at work in Toronto preparing for the event.
The recent withdrawals of the top-ranked men greatly improves Raonic's chances for a deep run as he's now the tournament's No. 4 seed. The Thornhill, Ont., native reached the final in 2013 and the quarter-finals on two other occasions.
Djokovic coming off awful Wimbledon
While Raonic comes off Wimbledon on a high, Djokovic comes in following his worst result at a Grand Slam in seven years.
The world No.1 was upset by Sam Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon, ending the Serbian star's pursuit of the calendar-year Grand Slam (all four Grand Slams won in the same season.)
It was Djokovic's earliest exit from a major since 2009 when he lost in the third round of the French Open.
The Rogers Cup will be his last event before the Rio Olympics, and a shot at the career Golden Slam (all the Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal.)
The other No.1
Three-time Rogers Cup champ Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw, fresh off a Wimbledon where she tied Steffi Graf's all-time record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles and also captured the doubles title with her sister Venus.
Home sweet home?
The last time Eugenie Bouchard was on centre court at Uniprix Stadium (2014), the Westmount native melted under the hometown pressure and lost in three sets to Shelby Rogers, a qualifier ranked 113th in the world.
The 22-year-old's body language was negative and it was as if she had given up. Bouchard even told coach Nick Saviano she wanted to leave the court partway through the first set.
The tournament has never been kind to Bouchard as she has failed to advance past the second round in eight appearances.
The next generation
With three of the men's "big four" absent from the tournament, many rising stars will have an opportunity to shine.
Among those in the main draw are Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, and Borna Coric. Thiem is ranked No.9 in the world and is the youngest player in the ATP top 10.
Zverev is only 19 years old and is the youngest player in the ATP top 50. He already has a victory over Roger Federer under his belt. Coric is another 19-year-old just outside the top 50 and is a former U.S Open junior champion.
Canada's junior players will also be well-represented at both the men's and ladies event with 2016 junior Wimbledon champion Denis Shapovalov and junior world No. 8 Bianca Andreescu among the notables.
Madison Keys and Yulia Putintseva lead the next generation of women tennis players into Montreal.
Keys is currently ranked No.11 and has one of the faster serves on tour, consistently topping 100 mph. Putintseva is in the middle of a breakthrough season having reached the quarter-finals at the French Open before losing in three sets to Serena Williams.