Toronto quarterfinals set: Top 2 seeds Alcaraz and Medvedev in action

We have reached the quarterfinals stage at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto. There has been a flurry of upsets during the week as evidenced by only four seeds remaining. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are the two heavy favorites that remain.

Let’s take a look at the matchups for Friday and see who has the best chance of moving on in Canada.

Mackenzie McDonald vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: Davidovich Fokina comes into this match on the back of two massive wins over 13-seed Alexander Zverev and the 3rd-seeded Casper Ruud. He is playing sublime all-around tennis at the moment.

Predictions for the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open, including Alcaraz!

McDonald knocked off home favorite Milos Raonic in straight sets to book his final eight spots. The Spaniard has been more impressive this week.

Prediction: Davidovich Fokina wins

Alex De Minaur vs. (2) Daniil Medvedev – De Minaur showed tremendous fight and character to overcome Taylor Fritz in a very tense 3-set battle in the 3rd round. His ball striking has been on a new level this week.

Medvedev has largely flown under the radar this week as he has eased his way into the Quarterfinals. He does what the Aussie does, just better.

Prediction: Medvedev wins

(1) Carlos Alcaraz vs. (12) Tommy Paul: Alcaraz was pushed to the absolute limit in the Round of 16 by Hubert Hurkacz. He needed to win a final set tiebreak to get across the finish line and book his quarterfinals spot.  Tommy Paul needed a good run this week and he’s gotten it.

He will be a big underdog against the World No. 1, but this week has shown anything is possible. However, the Spaniard should have too much for him.

Prediction: Alcaraz wins

(7) Jannik Sinner vs. Gael Monfils: This very well could be the match of the day as Monfils has been in vintage form this week in Toronto. He dispatched the 4-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas before taking down Alexander Vukic 6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 16.

Sinner took down the big-hitting Matteo Berrettini in the 2nd round before he got a Walkover when Andy Murray withdrew. This is a hard one to call, but Sinner should have just a little too much firepower for Monfils. I expect this one to go the distance.

Prediction: Sinner wins

It’s a very unique Quarterfinal slate for a Masters 1000 event so it would be no surprise if more unexpected results keep coming. However, at some point the talent must come through, right? We’ll see on Friday.