Bianca Andreescu pumps her fist.

Photo : Martin Sidorjak

Sometimes, you have to look beyond the scoreline to understand the significance of a result.

All the Canadians may have bowed out of the singles competitions at Roland-Garros in the first week, but that does not mean there was not some success.

And as is becoming a bit of a trend, there is plenty of positives to take from the doubles in Paris where the Canadians are still going strong.

Here’s what you need to know.

In Case You Missed It: Career-Bests a Silver Lining in Paris

While having no Canadians left in the singles draw after week one of Roland-Garros is disappointing, there were still many positives to take, particularly for Bianca Andreescu and Denis Shapovalov.

Both reached the third round in Paris for the first time in their careers with some impressive early-round wins.

Andreescu, who came into the French Open without a win on red clay in 2023, scored a stunning upset with a comeback win in round one over Victoria Azarenka. She followed it up with a commanding performance against Emma Navarro before bowing out in round three against Lesia Tsurenko.

Shapovalov had a similar path, winning a tight round-one match against Brandon Nakashima before a solid second-round win over Matteo Arnaldi. His run came to an end in the third round at the hands of world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

Leylah Annie Fernandez joined her two compatriots in the second round, also by causing an upset against Australian Open semifinalist Magda Linette in round one, but she was bounced by Clara Tauson in the second round.

Hampered by physical ailments, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Rebecca Marino were both eliminated in the first round.

There was a rare Clash of Canadians in the doubles when Fernandez met Gabriela Dabrowski on the second Monday. The third-round clash went the way of the younger Canadian and her partner Taylor Townsend in three sets. It is the first Grand Slam doubles quarter-final for Fernandez.

Dabrowski could have played Townsend twice in Paris, but received a walkover in the second round mixed doubles, where she is playing with American Nathaniel Lammons.

Tight third-set super tiebreaks have been a thing for the Canadians at Roland-Garros. Dabrowski won her first-round mixed doubles match 10-8 in the third, while Bianca Andreescu won two 10-8 super tiebreaks alongside Michael Venus to reach the mixed doubles quarter-finals.

The lone Canadian competing in juniors, Keegan Rice, was beaten in the second round of the boys singles.

Most of the title favourites remain on track in Paris. Top seeds Iga Swiatek, who dished out four bagels while dropping just eight total games in three matches, and Aryna Sabalenka have looked strong, although the third member of their emerging “Big Three,” Elena Rybakina, pulled out in the third round with an illness.

The feel-good story of the women’s side has been Elina Svitolina, who followed up her first title as a mom last week by reaching the quarter-finals in Paris in her first major back after giving birth. Her run includes wins over 2022 semifinalist Martina Trevisan and No. 9 Daria Kasatkina.

Alcaraz has dropped just one set so far in four matches, while Novak Djokovic is still 12-0. Second seed Daniil Medvedev was the victim of the biggest upset of the tournament, falling in the first round in five sets to qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild, ranked 172nd in the world.

What to Watch: Doubles the Last Hope

Three Canadians are still alive in doubles in week two of Roland-Garros.

After taking care of her countrywoman in round three, Leylah Annie Fernandez and Taylor Townsend are through to the quarter-finals where they will face the Chans, Latisha Chan and Hao-Ching Chan. Second seeds Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula are their possible semifinal opponents.

Two Canadian women remain alive in the mixed doubles and there could be another Clash of Canadians in the semifinals.

Gabriela Dabrowski and Nathaniel Lammons face Asia Muhammad and Lloyd Glasspool in the quarter-finals, while Bianca Andreescu and Michael Venus take on seventh seeds Marta Kostyuk and Marcelo Arevalo.

Wins by both Canadians would see them face off for a spot in the final. Just reaching the quarter-finals is a career-best doubles result at a major for Andreescu, while Dabrowski won the mixed doubles title at the French Open in 2017.

All eyes remain focused on the potential Carlos Alcaraz-Novak Djokovic semifinal, which will happen if the world No. 1 defeats 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas and the two-time champion puts away Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals. Last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud is the highest-ranked player remaining in the bottom half of the men’s draw.

The question on the women’s side is can anyone prevent a Swiatek-Sabalenka final. Sabalenka will have a blockbuster quarter-final against the resurgent Elina Svitolina before facing either Karolina Muchova or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final four.

Swiatek is only at the fourth round where she faces Lesia Tsurenko. She could have a rematch of the 2022 French Open final against Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and would face either Beatriz Haddad Maia or Ons Jabeur in the semis.

In the juniors, Keegan Rice will be competing in boys doubles this week. He is the lone Canadian junior remaining in Paris.

Rob Shaw is representing Canada in the quad wheelchair events. He drew top seed Niels Vink in the opening round of the singles and is seeded second in doubles with Heath Davidson.

Under the Radar:

Rob Shaw is arriving at the French Open with a bit of momentum after reaching the final of an ITF event in Royan, France last week. He lost in the title match to Koji Sugeno. The Canadian is still looking for his first singles title of 2023 after winning six last year.

Alexis Galarneau had one of his better weeks on the ATP Challenger Tour last week, reaching the doubles final at the Little Rock Challenger in Arkansas while also making the quarter-finals in singles. It was a first Challenger doubles final for the Davis Cup champion.

Rob Shaw. Photo : Open International Wheelchair de Royan

Also reaching a doubles final last week was Kayla Cross, who got to the title match at the ITF W40 event in Otocec, Slovenia. It was her highest-level final so far in 2023.

It was not just runner-up trophies last week for the Canadians though. Louise Kwong scored her third W15 title of the year, a second in Monastir, Tunisia, alongside partner Anna Ulyashchenko. The pair reached three finals in the last four weeks in Monastir, winning two of them.

Galarneau and Cross are both back in action this week in ATP Challenger and ITF events respectively. Gabriel Diallo is also competing on the Challenger Tour, while Carol Zhao is playing at a W100 event in the UK.

There is also an ITF Wheelchair event taking place in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec this week with a large Canadian contingent.

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.

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