Rogers Cup Monday – what to watch, see, do and look out for

MONTREAL – The rest of the week looks pretty good, weather-wise. But the forecast in Montreal Monday is poor with showers and thunderstorms expected from noon through until this evening.

The prospects are better in Toronto, although it would be a surprise not to get through the day without some stoppages in play.

The top eight seeds in both the men's and women's events have first-round byes, so don't expect to see them before Wednesday. In the meantime, there is plenty of Canadian talent on display, and other intriguing first-round matchups.

CANADIAN CONTENT

Toronto:

The night session is double-barrelled Canadian excitement, with 17-year-old Denis Shapovalov making his Rogers Cup main draw debut against the exciting, mercurial No. 11 seed from Australia, Nick Kyrgios.

You can read more on Shapovalov's journey here.

After that, the entertaining Frank Dancevic, who has begun to play well again this summer, takes on big-hitting American Sam Querrey. Dancevic, now 31, was once a Rogers Cup quarter-finalist and took Rafael Nadal to three sets in an entertaining clash in Montreal.

Also in action on Court 1 are wild cards Steven Diez (vs. Kyle Edmund of Great Britain) and Richmond Hill, Ont.'s Peter Polansky (against American qualifier Tim Smyczek).

Montreal:

  The pickings are more slim, but 19-year-old Montrealer Françoise Abanda headlines the night session, against qualifier Saisai Zheng of China. Abanda was originally set to play top-20 player Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, but the withdrawal of Serena Williams scrambled the seeds in the draw and she ended up with a lower-ranked opponent.

Olympian Gabriela Dabrowski, playing with Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva in doubles, also is on the schedule

MATCHES TO WATCH

Toronto:

John Isner (USA) vs. Dudi Sela (ISR): The height disparity between the 6-foot-10 Isner and the 5-foot-9 (on skates) Sela makes for a great David vs. Goliath contrast.

When Sela played the 6-foot-11 Ivo Karlovic in South America a few years ago, he saw the humour in it.

Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) / Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs. Lucas Pouille (FRA) / Dominic Thiem (AUT): One of the features of the Rogers Cup, as the first big hard-court tournament of the summer, is that the singles players often get out on the doubles court to get extra time in. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have often played, and Novak Djokovic is teaming up with Olympic partner Nenad Zimonjic this week.

Three of these four (Pouille is the exception) feature flashy one-handed backhands, so this match (last on Court1) is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Montreal:

Sloane Stephens vs. Camila Giorgi: Stephens has been as high as No. 11 in the world, although she has struggled of late. Giorgi's ranking has also dropped, but she's on a good run. The Italian, who has two speeds – hard and harder – defeated Genie Bouchard in the first round of the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. last week and qualified in Montreal.

Caroline Garcia vs. Barbora Strycova: A clash of two unseeded players opens proceedings on Centre Court at 12:30 p.m. Both have game; it should be an even, competitive matchup.

ON THE PRACTICE COURTS

Toronto:

Novak Djokovic and Federico Debonis (1 - 3:15 p.m., Court 2)

Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev (11:30 - 1 p.m., Court 4)

Gaël Monfils: (3:15 - 4 p.m., Court 5)

Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic (1:45 - 3:15 p.m., Court 5)

Vasek Pospisil (12:15 - 1 p.m., Court 8)

Stan Wawrinka (3:15 - 4 p.m., Court 9)

Milos Raonic (1:45 - 4 p.m., Court 10)

Montreal:

Garbiñe Muguruza (12:30 - 2 p.m., Court 3)

Dominika Cibulkova (3:30 - 4:15 p.m., Court 4)

Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber (11:45 - 1:15 p.m., Court 6)

Eugenie Bouchard (11 - 12:30 p.m., Court 8)

Venus Williams (2 - 3:30 p.m., Court 11)

OFF THE COURT

2 p.m.: Autograph session with a WTA player on the Casino stage in Montreal

3 p.m.: "Play the pro" - in Montreal, on Court 2

3:30 p.m (approx).: Wheelchair tennis demonstration on the Centre Court.

5:15 pm: In both Montreal and Toronto, there will be a "fan chat" with ATP and WTA players at the Rogers kiosk in Montreal and the Rogers Fan Hub in Toronto.

6:30 p.m.: Celebrity match before the might session on Centre Court

ON TV

Rogers Sportsnet in English and TVA Sports in French have taken over the entire week's coverage of the tournament (formerly, the CBC/Radio-Canada had it on the last three days).

They're on from 11 a.m. and again at 6:30 p.m. for the night session, on all of their channels with the exception of Sportsnet 360 on Monday).

The men are on all the main channels, with the women taking over on Sportsnet1 at 12:30 p.m., when the Centre Court schedule in Montreal kicks off.

You can watch the Toronto matches on the secondary Grandstand court online by clicking here.