I’m backing three favourites to advance in the Toronto draw at the National Bank Open on Sunday.
The pregame narrative: Alex de Minaur is flying high and holds value to dispatch Frances Tiafoe in straight sets. Two ATP top-10-ranked Americans — Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton — are in action, and there’s reason to believe both will advance.
Check out my top National Bank Open parlay predictions for Aug. 3.
National Bank Open predictions
Parlay: de Minaur -1.5 sets | Fritz to win | Shelton to win (+283)
de Minaur -1.5 sets (-107): de Minaur entered this tournament on a high, capturing his 10th ATP singles title with a win at the Citi DC Open.
The problem for him in Toronto, in my mind at least, would be conditioning. The Aussie had won five matches in five days before heading north of the border, which is a lot of strain to put on the body.
But de Minaur made light work of his first opponent and was gifted a walkover in his round of 32 match against fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell, who pulled out with an abdominal injury.
Now the tables have turned, as de Minaur will have three days of rest against Tiafoe, who is playing in a doubles match on Saturday.
And I haven’t been particularly impressed with the American so far.
Tiafoe needed three sets in each of his matches and actually lost more games (17) than he won (15) against ATP No. 158 Yosuke Watanuki in the round of 64.
de Minaur is 38-11 on outdoor hard courts since the start of 2023. He won 26 of those matches in straight sets.
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Tennis parlay picks
Fritz to win (-235): One American I am impressed by is Fritz, who is enjoying a career year.
He won the Indian Wells Open earlier this year to capture his first ATP 1000-level title and then picked up two more wins overseas at the Eastbourne International and BOSS Open.
Fritz has won 13 of his last 15 matches, with one of the losses coming to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal at Wimbledon. It’s hard to scoff at that.
He’s also 3-0 against Sunday’s opponent, Jiri Lehecka, winning both meetings on hard courts in straight sets.
Shelton to win (-265): Finally, let’s turn to Shelton, who takes on an up-and-coming Italian, Flavio Cobolli.
Shelton’s powerful serve has helped him dominate on hard courts. The 22-year-old has a 14-6 record on the surface this year, advancing to the Australian Open semifinals in January.
He should easily beat a player who’s fighting out of his depth.
Cobolli is 1-8 against top-10 ranked players in the past year. His only win came against Holger Rune on clay, which is the Italian’s preferred surface.
National Bank Open predictions made at 12:10 p.m. on 08/02/2025
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.