With three of the Big Four not playing the Rogers Cup in Toronto, some of the players just below the top tier see a bigger opening for themselves at the tournament.
World No. 2 Andy Murray, world No. 3 Roger Federer and world No. 4 Rafael Nadal were among those who withdrew from the event, though top-ranked Novak Djokovic is in the field. Stan Wawrinka is the No. 2 seed.
"Actually, [it’s the] first time that I'm seeded No. 3 here [in a Masters]," Kei Nishikori said in his pre-tournament press conference. "I think I have a [good] chance if I can play good tennis. But still, there is Djoko, Stan and a couple of more good players.
"So it's not going to be [an] easy tournament. But yeah, [a] couple of guys not playing from Top 10, Top 20. So [it’s a] chance for me to have a good tournament here."
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and David Ferrer also withdrew from the event. And Nishikori, though he’s in the draw, is still working his way back from an ab injury suffered at Wimbledon.
"I had ... almost one week off," he said. "I started slowly so I haven't played much practice yet, but it's [a] couple of days feeling good, and [I’ll] start playing more points and stuff.”
Milos Raonic, the local favorite, is the fourth seed, and he’ll also look to take advantage of not having to contend with many of the top players.
"Definitely," he said. "I think it's something you sense and something you try to capitalize on. But at the same time, there's still many great players playing here, and many guys that want to win. So you still have to fight and find a way, and pay attention to yourself. Find a way to win matches."
But getting to play the Big Four is always valuable experience, Raonic added.
“I look forward to those things,” he said. “You want to face off against those guys."
Raonic is in Djokovic's half of the draw, while Nishikori is in the same half as Wawrinka.