De Minaur, Popyrin dealt favourable boost as four top-10 players withdraw from Toronto Masters

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are set to skip the Toronto Masters. (Getty/Julian Finney)

Although still one week out from the first Masters tournament of the North American swing, the draw has blown wide open for two Aussie hopefuls after a handful of top-10 withdrawals.

Fresh from his maiden Wimbledon triumph, Jannik Sinner (No.1), along with Jack Draper (No.5) and Novak Djokovic (No.6), have decided to opt out of the Canadian Open in Toronto.

Remarkably, Djokovic hasn't stepped on court in Canada since 2018.

Shortly after those withdrawals were announced, five-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz was also removed from the Masters 1000 event list, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

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In what is a massive blow for tournament organisers, it presents a huge opportunity for Alexei Popyrin and Alex de Minaur.

Last year, Popyrin won the Montreal Masters (the ATP and WTA alternate each year between Montreal and Toronto) to become the first Aussie to win a Masters tournament since Lleyton Hewitt won the 2003 Indian Wells crown.

Forced to defend 1000 ranking points, there is an opening for the world No.24 to make another deep run.

As for de Minaur, the recent news concerning the big-name withdrawals paves the way for arguably his best chance to win a Masters tournament for the first time in his career.

The world No.12 reached the final in Toronto two years ago, where he fell short against Sinner in straight sets.

After the conclusion of Toronto, the Cincinnati Masters is next on the ATP tennis calendar before the US Open commences in the final week of August.

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