Three of the world’s top-four men’s tennis players may have recently pulled out of this year’s Rogers Cup in Toronto, but the sport’s top dog will assuredly be at the Aviva Centre.

So while Rogers Cup tournament director Karl Hale is lamenting the fact defending champion Andy Murray will not be in attendance along with all-time greats Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, he is guaranteeing that world No. 1 Novak Djokovic will not be making a last-minute withdrawal.

“I’ve spoke with him over the past few days. He’s coming on Saturday, he’s made all of his arrangements,” Hale told Bob McCown and Michael Grange on Prime Time Sports Tuesday. “Practice time is going to be 5:00 Saturday and Sunday at 12. We’re 100 per cent certain Novak will be on site and excited to go.”

A 12-time Grand Slam winner, Djokovic comes to the Rogers Cup in hopes of capturing the event for a fourth time.

Djokovic is certainly a bright enough star to stand on his own but the other three that make up the sport’s “Big Four” would’ve made the Rogers Cup one of the rare events where the top four players on the planet all convene at a tournament that isn’t a major.

Knowing this, Hale is obviously disappointed but at the same time is understanding of each player’s individual circumstances.

“[Federer] hurt himself, he had surgery earlier this year, he hurt himself again playing Milos [Raonic] in the [Wimbledon] semis, so he’s still a bit banged up,” Hale said. “At 34, almost 35, he’s not feeling ready to go in Toronto. So he needs more time to recover and practice to continue his season.

“Andy’s a great supporter of our tournament. He came four years ago the day after winning the gold medal at home in London, so we understand his position. He’s exhausted right now, we understand that.”

Even without the “Big Four” fully assembled, Hale believes his tournament has more than enough star power on its hands, particularly when it comes to players he thinks has what it takes to become the next great tennis superstar such as Kei Nishikori and Canada’s Raonic.

“We’re so fortunate to have our very own Canadian Milos, who has the potential to be a No. 1 player,” said Hale. “Has all it takes: A great team, the discipline, has that cannon serve that nobody can seem to return so he’s definitely at the top of the list.

“But then you have a whole host of others. You have Dominic Thiem who’s in the top-10 this year, you have Nishikori who is actually a No. 5, ahead of Milos in the ranking, you have this kid Alexander Zverev, you have the controversial and really exciting [Nick] Kyrgios, who will be here.”

Raonic made his first-ever Grand Slam final at Wimbledon earlier this month, falling to Murray in straight sets.