ITF Champions Crowned in Fredericton and Montreal

The $25,000 ITF World Tennis Tour events in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Montreal, Quebec wrapped up on Sunday with new champions being crowned both in singles and doubles.

At the women’s tournament in Fredericton, Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic captured the first ITF singles title of her career thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 upset victory over fifth-seeded Himeno Sakatsume of Japan. Knutson, ranked no. 295 on the WTA rankings, also knocked out top-seeded American Kayla Day in the opening round and only lost one set en route to the trophy. The best Canadian result was posted by Vancouver’s Stacey Fung who reached the semifinals before falling to Sakatsume. Fredericton also marked Victoria Mboko’s return to action for the first time since the Junior U.S. Open last September. She also lost to Sakatsume in the second round. Meanwhile, the doubles final was a battle between the top two teams in the draw with the second-seeded pair of Jessie Aney and Dalayna Hewitt defeating the top-seeded duo of Quinn Gleason and Jamie Loeb 7-6(2), 6-4 to win the title.

At the men’s tournament in Montreal, third-seeded Jules Marie of France, ranked no. 442 on the ATP rankings, was crowned singles champion thanks to a 7-5, 6-0 triumph over second-seeded American Strong Kirchheimer in Sunday’s final. The win is Marie’s 14th career singles title and his first since 2020. He lost just one set all week. A pair of Canadians, Vancouver’s Benjamin Sigouin and Juan Carlos Aguilar of Montreal, reached the quarter-finals and Aguilar also took home the doubles trophy alongside Joe Tyler of Great Britain. The pair beat the third-seeded British duo of Scott Duncan and Marcus Willis 6-4, 5-7, 11-9 in the championship match to give Aguilar the sixth ITF doubles title of his career and first in 2023.

Diallo Will Play in Montreal this Week

IGA Stadium at Jarry Park will host another $25,000 ITF men’s event this week featuring essentially the same field as last week with the exception of one major addition. Gabriel Diallo will be the top seed at his hometown tournament. After making his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in January, the 21-year-old, ranked no. 213 in the world, will look to add some hardware to his collection.

Kirchheimer, Marie, Aguilar, Sigouin, and Henri Squire of Germany, last week’s no. 1 seed, will also be in the draw.