The American hard-court season gets into full swing this week with the first of two straight Masters Series events.

This week's venue is Toronto, and all the top players will be present as they build up to the US Open in four weeks time.

Last year Andrei Pavel was a surprise Tennis Masters Canada winner, beating Pat Rafter in the final in Montreal.

Pavel could not have asked for a much harder draw if he is to retain his title.

First up he faces Gustavo Kuerten, who is unseeded as his recent stint on the sidelines has seen him slip out of the top 16 in the world rankings.

The winner should then face second seed Marat Safin in the next round.

The third seed is Tommy Haas, who made his return to the tour last week.

Haas took time off after his parents were involved in a serious motorbike crash, missing out on Wimbledon.

His first appearance since losing to Pavel in the French Open came at the Mercedes Benz Cup, but he was a surprise loser to Alex Bogomolov.

Haas faces Canadian wild card Frederic Niemeyer in the first round and could face the in-form Alex Corretja next.

Britain's Tim Henman is seeded fourth and faces Spaniard Fernando Vicente first up.

Henman is in the top half of the draw - the same as Hewitt - so is scheduled to meet his nemesis in the semi-final.

Andre Agassi, however, was a late withdrawal after straining his back and right hip during his victory over Jan-Michael Gambill at the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles.

Agassi was scheduled to face Toronto's Daniel Nestor on Tuesday. Nestor will now face Kristian Pless of Denmark, who takes the 32-year-old American's place in the draw.

The women head to Stanford for the Acura Classic.

Venus Williams is the reigning champion and, in the absence of her sister Serena, also the top seed.

She, like the other top seeds, all receive byes in the first round.

Third seed Lindsay Davenport continues her return to the tour - after reaching the semi-finals in the Bank of the West Classic last week she will be hoping to go at least one better in Stanford.

Jennifer Capriati is seeded second, while Monica Seles, Daniela Hantuchova, Kim Clijsters, Jelena Dokic and Anna Kournikova are also in the draw.