China’s Juncheng Shang and Spain’s Jaume Munar were the first players to win their first-round matches on Sunday at the National Bank Open, whilst rain made life difficult for the organizers. Shang, ranked 270th in the world, defeated Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 6-3 in just over 1 hour 21 minutes. In the next round, he will face Russia’s Andrey Rublev, a finalist in Montreal in 2024 and the 10th seed this year. Vallejo and Shang were the only players to complete their match before the rain began to fall on the courts at the IGA Stadium. Play was suspended at 12:53 p.m., then finally resumed shortly after 4 p.m. However, the rain began to fall again a few moments later, and play was officially suspended once more at 4:23 p.m. The organizers stated that play would not resume before 5 p.m. The brief resumption of play nevertheless allowed Munar to defeat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata, 7-6 (3), 6-3. Munar will face Belgium’s Alexander Blockx, the 27th seed, in the second round. Two matches from the afternoon session were cancelled: the tie between Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and France’s Corentin Moutet, and the match between French players Lucas Van Assche and Titouan Droguet. In the evening, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo was due to face France’s Kyrian Jacquet, whilst Laval’s Alexis Galarneau was then scheduled to take on the Czech Republic’s Vit Kopriva. However, the schedule could once again be disrupted by rain. Quebec’s Félix Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s second seed, has a bye in the first round, as do all 32 seeds. Auger-Aliassime is due to play his second-round match on Tuesday evening against the winner of the tie between Van Assche and Droguet. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 2, 2026
