Carolina men’s tennis player Brayden Schnur will be taking on the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic this week in Toronto.

Schnur, a sophomore at UNC, qualified for the Rogers Cup, an ATP masters series event, over the weekend with a pair of commanding straight-set wins over Japan’s Yuichi Sugita and Australia’s Matthew Ebden. The latter is ranked inside the top 100 in the world.

Brayden Schnur pumps himself up (UNC Athletics)

Brayden Schnur pumps himself up (UNC Athletics)

Schnur is currently ranked No. 609 in the ATP rankings, but that’s sure to change following the Rogers Cup.

Being a Canadian, himself, Schnur’s unlikely heroics in his home country are made all the more special. He says his dream is to play the game full-time professionally.

The 19-year-old enrolled at UNC in January and made quite a splash in his freshman campaign for the Tar Heels, who were knocked out in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics

Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics

Schnur will take on Italy’s Andrea Seppi, ranked No. 48 in the world, in the opening round. If Schnur is able to get past the crafty Italian, he could face a potential second-round meeting with American No. 1 and Greensboro native John Isner.

You can follow Schnur’s progress in the Rogers Cup at rogerscup.com.