Top seed Novak Djokovic is the sole member of the "Big Four" at the Rogers Cup in Toronto this year as defending champion Andy Murray won Wimbledon and former champions Roger Federer withdrew due to injury and Rafael Nadal is not fully fit to compete and wants to be at 100% for the Rio Olympics.
Tomas Berdych reached the semifinals of Wimbledon this year but he was soundly beaten by Murray in straight sets, however, the Czech number one is having a good season at the Grand Slams as along with Murray he is one of two players to have reached the quarterfinals or better at all three Slams this year.
Djokovic is competing in his first match in a month since his devastating third round defeat in four sets at Wimbledon, at the hands of Sam Querrey which was his earliest exit from a Grand Slam since the French Open in 2009.
Berdych would have hoped that the world number one was not in his section of the draw as there was a big opportunity for Berdych to take advantage of the weakened draw in Toronto.
The duo will meet for the 27th time and the head-to-head is overwhelmingly in Djokovic's favour at 24-2.
How they got here
Top seed Djokovic received a bye in the first round as the top eight seeds do in Toronto, however, his second round match with Gilles Muller was a tough assignment for the Serb but he came through the match in straight sets with a close 7-6, 7-5 scoreline.
Djokovic's third round opponent was Berdych's compatriot, the veteran Radek Stepanek and despite winning the first set 6-2, Djokovic went an early break down in the second but he recovered and won the match 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals in Toronto.
Berdych's progress through to the quarterfinals was slightly tougher than his quarterfinal opponent. The fifth seed opened up against Davis Cup hero, Borna Coric and the Wimbledon finalist from six years ago had to come back from a set down to record a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over the Croat.
In the third round, Berdych played American qualifier Ryan Harrison who is looking to rediscover some form after having a poor 2016 and it was another three set battle for the Czech but he came through victorious, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4.
Their history
As aforementioned Djokovic and Berdych have met on 26 occasions and the top seed has dominated this rivalry leading 24-2 in the series.
The duo has faced each other on all three surfaces, at Grand Slams, the ATP World Tour finals, Masters 1,000s, finals, Davis Cup and in other tournaments which display the longevity of both men.
Djokovic leads their rivalry 4-1 at Grand Slams, an unprecedented 20-0 on hard courts, 3-1 on clay and they are tied 1-1 on grass.
The Serb won their first meeting in the semifinal of Bangkok back in 2008 and it was a straight sets victory, followed by fourth round victory at the Miami Open in 2009, however, Berdych shocked Djokovic in the semifinals of Wimbledon in 2010 to reach his first Grand Slam final and it was a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 victory for the Czech.
The top seed would go on to win their next 11 consecutive meetings and during his run he would defeat Berdych three times at the ATP World Tour finals in London, twice in the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2011 and 2013 en route to winning those titles in Melbourne, a Davis Cup victory in 2010 and it culminated with a victory in the final in Dubai in 2013.
Berdych would score his second victory over Djokovic and his first in almost three years in the quarterfinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in 2013.
The world number one went on to replicate his run from 2010-2013 by winning the next 11 consecutive meetings between the pair starting with a quarterfinal victory at Wimbledon, a win in the Davis Cup again and a 6-0, 6-2 drubbing in the final of Beijing.
More misery for Berdych occurred when Djokovic beat him again at the ATP World Tour finals again in 2014 and 2015, a victory in the final of Monte Carlo and three times this year in straight sets in the semifinals of Doha, quarterfinals of the Miami Open and quarterfinals at Roland Garros, which Djokovic went on to win the title and complete his Career Grand Slam.
Who wins?
This will be the 21st meeting between the duo on hard courts and Berdych is one of the best hard court players in the world, and it is surprising that the Czech hasn't got a victory over Djokovic on this surface.
The top seed's game matches up so well with Berdych as the three-time Rogers Cup champion likes to throw in drop shots to get the Czech off the baseline and the placement of Djokovic's serve can be difficult to read.
Berdych is always under pressure when he serves against Djokovic because the 12-time Grand Slam winner is one of the best returners of all time, therefore the Czech drops his serve a lot against the Serb and gets erratic.
Berdych's best chance of winning this match is ensuring that he is serving well at all times and try to implement some pressure on Djokovic's service games as the Serb sometimes loses his concentration like he did against Muller in the second set when serving out for the match and he has to take advantage of any break point opportunities that he might create.
Djokovic is going to compete at the Rio Olympics next week and he has found enough information to make sure that he is safe to compete amid fears of the Zika virus.
Berdych is not taking any chances and along with his compatriots Karolina Pliskova and Jiri Vesely along with Milos Raonic and Simona Halep, he will not be going to Rio which means the Czech should have more time to prepare for the US Open.
This match will kick-off the night session on Centre Court at not before 6:30pm local time and the winner of this match will face the Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic or Citi Open champion Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
Prediction: Djokovic in straight sets.