Monday Digest: Dabrowski Title Defence on Track at US Open

Photo : Martin Sidorjak

A year ago, Gabriela Dabrowski reached the mountaintop by winning the US Open, her first women’s doubles Grand Slam title.

Now in 2024, she is well positioned to get her hands on another trophy in New York, where she is the only Canadian left at the final major of the season.

Here’s what you need to know.

In Case You Missed It: Diallo breaks through

When it came to singles, the US Open did not go as well as Canadian fans might have hoped. However, there was one bright spot that came from an unexpected source.

22-year-old Gabriel Diallo got into the main draw by winning three qualifying matches, one of them saving match points, and then made his opportunity count by reaching the third round of a major for the first time in his career.

The 6’8 Montrealer, who participated in his first Grand Slam main draw in May at Roland-Garros, salvaged a difficult Tuesday for Canada with his first major match win over Jaume Munar in four sets. He then upset world No. 24 Arthur Fils, ranked 119 spots ahead of the Canadian, in four sets in the second round.

His run finally came to an end in round three at the hands of world No. 14 Tommy Paul, although the Canadian was still able to take a set and very nearly pushed the American to five.

The other four Canadians in the singles draws, Bianca Andreescu, Leylah Annie Fernandez, Denis Shapovalov, and Félix Auger-Aliassime, all lost in the first round.

Gabriela Dabrowski is off to a strong start in her title defence at the US Open as she and Erin Routliffe, the top seeds at the 2024 US Open, reached the quarter-finals without dropping a set.

That included a first-round win over Fernandez and Yulia Putintseva.

Denis Shapovalov also lost in the first round of the doubles to Flavio Cobolli and Dominic Stricker while partnering Soonwoo Kwon.

What to Watch: Dabrowski Going for Two

Five of the top eight seeded women’s doubles teams are still alive at the US Open, including the top seeds and defending champions Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe.

They will meet 10^th seeds Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. A win would set up a semifinal clash against either seventh seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, who have given the Canadian-Kiwi duo trouble in 2024, or Anna Danilina and Irina Khromacheva.

The highest-seeded potential finals opponent for Dabrowski and Routliffe are No. 3 seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, who beat the Canadian-Kiwi pair in the Wimbledon final.

They are looking to become the first tandem to defend the US Open title in 20 years.

Under the Radar: Shaw Plays in Paris

Rob Shaw was the lone Canadian representative in the wheelchair tennis event at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris last week.

He won his first-round quad singles match against Ymanitu Silva of Brazil, Shaw’s first match win in two attempts at the Paralympics, but lost to world No. 2 Niels Vink in the quarter-finals.

It was a busy week on Canadian soil with the final national championships of the summer wrapping up. Toronto played host to the Steve Stevens Masters Tennis Championships while Laval was the venue for the U14 Fischer Outdoor Junior Nationals.

Click here to read the U14 recap.

The largest ITF junior event in Canada on the calendar took place as well last week in Repentigny. Twins Mikael and Nicolas Arseneault were the highlight for the home nation, taking home the boys doubles title.

Click here to read the Repentigny tournament recap.

Taha Baadi and Nicaise Muamba were winners on the ITF Men’s World Tour last week, teaming up to claim the doubles title at the M15 event in Bucharest. They opened up their campaign with a double bagel and then proceeded to win three straight match tiebreaks, capping it off with a dramatic 13-11 win local pair Stefan Adrian Andreescu and Filip Gabriel Bara in the final.

It is the first professional title for both Canadians.

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here. 

Written By

Pete Borkowski