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August 7 2024, 08:44 · Rob Esteva

Alexei Popyrin vs Tomas Machac Preview & Prediction | National Bank Open Presented by Rogers | 2024 Canada Masters | First Round

Alexei Popyrin vs Tomas Machac Preview & Prediction | National Bank Open Presented by Rogers | 2024 Canada Masters | First Round
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Olympic mixed doubles gold medallist Tomas Machac gets back to business in Montreal and faces Alexei Popyrin in the first round

RANKING POINTS: ATP 1000

START DATE/TIME: Wednesday 7th August, 2024, UK – not before 6:40pm / US ET – not before 1:40pm / US PT – not before 14:00am

VENUE: IGA Stadium, Montreal

SURFACE: Outdoor hard

HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Sky Sports Tennis / US – Tennis Channel

HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Sky Go / US – Tennis Channel

TICKETS: Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Alexei Popyrin vs Tomas Machac

ALEXEI POPYRIN VS TOMAS MACHAC PREDICTION

It has been some year for Tomas Machac so far and it culminated last week as he and Katerina Siniakova won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Prior to that, he had registered wins over Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic this year and reached his highest ever singles ranking of 33 in June.

He also enjoyed the hard courts of Miami at the ATP 1000 event back in March where he reached the quarter-finals and that will serve him well for this week in Montreal. He kicks off his campaign against Alexei Popyrin who he has beaten in their only previous meeting back in 2022. That came at Indian Wells and Machac won 6-3 7-5.

Australian Popyrin is making his debut at the Canadian Open after falling at the qualifying stage in three previous years. He too enjoyed a good run at the Olympics in the singles where he reached the round of 16 before losing to Sascha Zverev but his form otherwise has been a little underwhelming this year. He hit a rankings high of 38 back in February but has drifted to 62 since then. He will enjoy the hard courts however and will be eager to put in a good showing in Montreal.

There is not a huge amount to choose between the two players here. We like Machac’s momentum and he has registered the better performances on hard courts this year but the big question is whether they will be any kind of hangover from the Olympic glory. One to be cautious with but we edge Machac to progress.

ALEXEI POPYRIN VS TOMAS MACHAC TIP: TOMAS MACHAC TO WIN