Monday Digest: The Pan American Games Await

It’s been a whirlwind of a week for Canadian tennis. Though some results were better than others, there are plenty of things to celebrate as well as upcoming events to look forward to. 

This past week saw some of the biggest Canadian names in tennis unfortunately lose their respective tournaments in Asia, but also saw a big win for Canadian tennis on home soil. 

With a couple more tournaments lining up in Canada and a pair of Canadians representing their country in the Pan American games, there should be no shortage of excitement. 

In Case You Missed It: Big Wins In Saguenay 

The Saguenay National Bank Challenger saw many Canadians duking it out in the second round through the semifinals, but Katherine Sebov emerged victorious through it all. 

She cruised her way through the tournament, winning every single set in every match along the way. In her route to the finals, she defeated Scarlett Nicholson, Victoria Mboko, and Isabelle Boulais before coming out on top in the finals against Hungarian Fanny Stollar. 

On the other side of the world, both Felix Auger-Aliassime and Leylah Annie Fernandez fought hard in their respective runs. 

Auger-Aliassime showed flashes of his older self during the Japan Open, making it to the quarter-finals before stumbling in his defeat against Marcos Giron. Though he lost in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, His appearance in the quarter-finals marked his first since March when he lost to Carlos Alvaraz in the Indian Wells Open. 

Not too far in China, Fernandez came up just short of winning back-to-back titles in two weeks. After breezing her way into the semifinals, Fernandez found herself in a rematch with Katerina Siniakova, who she bested a week prior in Hong Kong. 

Despite dropping the match in straight sets 7-5, 6-4, Fernandez never backed down and showed heart and sincere effort until the very end. 

What to Watch: Canada In The Pan American Games in Santiago 

It’ll be an exciting week of Tennis up ahead as Justin Boulais and Rebecca Marino will try to make Canada proud at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. With neither of the two taking home a trophy this year, they’ll be looking to make a big splash down south with hopes of bringing a medal back to Canada. 

Both Boulais and Marino are partaking in men’s and women’s singles respectively, but they will be teaming up in the mixed doubles category where they’ll square off against Natalie Espinal and Alejandro Obando of Honduras. 

In Europe, Auger-Aliassime will take part in the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Switzerland. His first match of the week will occur tomorrow in a doubles matchup where he’ll team up with Sebastian Korda of the United States. The duo will take on American Austin Krajicek and Croation Ivan Dodig who are seeded first. 

Read also: Félix Auger-Aliassime, Milos Raonic, Vasek Pospisil, Gabriel Diallo, and Alexis Galarneau named to Team Canada roster for Davis Cup Finals

On Wednesday, Auger-Aliassime is playing in the singles category against Leandro Riedi who’ll be playing on home soil. The Canadian is seeded sixth in this tournament. 

Under the Radar: A couple more Canadian events 

Even though the Saguenay National Bank Challenger has wrapped up doesn’t mean tennis in Canada is slowing down. 

Beginning this week in Quebec is the second edition of the ITF M25 tournament in Saint-Augustin, Quebec. Liam Draxl and Juan Carlos Aguilar will lead the charge this week. 

Read more about the tournament here. 

In Ontario, the Tevlin Challenger in Toronto will take place with Katherine Sebov hoping to win her second title of the month and third of the year. Before winning it all in Saguenay, Sebov won the ITF 25 event in Toronto in March. 

Also joining Sebov in Toronto this week are Marina Stakusic and Victoria Mboko who will look to brush off their respective defeats to Sebov in the earlier rounds in Saguenay.