Watch List: Top storylines ahead of Rogers Cup in Montreal, Toronto

The Watch List highlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, both tours head to Canada as the sixth ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year kicks off in Montreal and the WTA Premier 5-level tournament begins in Toronto.

The Watch List highlights the must-know storylines for the upcoming week in tennis. This week, both tours head to Canada as the sixth ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year kicks off in Montreal and the WTA Premier 5-level tournament begins in Toronto. No. 2 Roger Federer pulled out of Montreal last week and No. 2 Maria Sharapova withdrew before the Rogers Cup draw on Friday evening with a right leg strain, but both tournaments still feature a stacked field. In Toronto, 16 of the top 17 WTA players are in action, while in Montreal, 18 of the top 20 ATP players will take the court. 

Coupe Rogers (Montreal, Canada)

[Complete draw]

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With only Federer and David Ferrer missing from the draw out of the ATP's Top 20, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will look to defend his title in Montreal when play begins on Monday. The Frenchman will open up against 18-year-old Borna Coric. The top 8 seeds receive a bye into the second round and No. 1 Novak Djokovic leads the field, playing in his first tournament since winning his ninth title at Wimbledon. Projected quarterfinals include Djokovic vs. Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka vs. Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori vs. Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray vs. Marin Cilic. There are six Americans in the draw, including 22-year-old Denis Kudla, who opens up against fellow countryman Donald Young, and John Isner, who is coming off a loss in the Citi Open final to Nishikori and plays Benjamin Becker in the opening round. Canada's Vasek Pospisil received a wildcard into the tournament and will face off against Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round, with Canadians Philip Bester, Frank Dancevic, and Filip Peliwo also receiving wildcards. Other notable players in the field include Dominic Thiem, who lost in the final in Kitzbuhel on Sunday but has won two titles in the last three weeks, Nick Kyrgios, Jack Sock, Ivo Karlovic and Janko Tipsarevic.

Rogers Cup (Toronto, Canada)

[Complete draw]

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No. 1 Serena Williams leads the field in Toronto, where she owns a 20-1 record. Her only loss came in the 2009 semifinals to Elena Dementieva. With multiple withdrawals—Madison Keys (left wrist injury), CamilaGiorgi (illness), Svetlana Kuznetsova (left leg injury) and Sharapova (right leg strain)—Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Karin Knapp, Alison Riske, Alison Van Uytvanck and CoCo Vandeweghe moved into the main draw. Simona Halep received a wildcard into the tournament, along with Gabriela Dabrowski, Francoise Abanda and Carol Zhao​. Unseeded players include Victoria Azarenka, who has a tough opener against Stanford semifinalist Elina Svitolina, Sam Stosur, Genie Bouchard, who starts off her campaign in her home country against Belinda Bencic, Sabine Lisicki, Alize Cornet, Jelena Jankovic and Caroline Garcia. Last year's finalists—champion Agnieszka Radwanska​ and runner-up Venus Williams—are both in the field. Possible quarterfinals include Serena vs. Lucie Safarova, Wozniacki vs. Ana Ivanovic, Garbine Muguruza vs. Petra Kvitova and Radwanska vs. Halep.