Robbe, Aney Again Lead Field at Montreal ITF Event

For the second week in a row, Alice Robbe of France and Jessie Aney of the United States are the top two seeds at an ITF W15 event in Quebec, this time at IGA Stadium in Montreal. 

Last week in Brossard, Robbe lost in the quarter-finals, while Aney was beaten in the title match. Both fell to the eventual champion Catherine Harrison. 

Robbe is guaranteed to meet a Canadian in the second round. She will face the winner between local wildcards Naomi Xu and Emma Dong. 

Aney will play a qualifier in her first-round match and could face one of the Brossard doubles champions, Zuzana Pawlikowska, in the second round. 

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15-year-old Clemence Mercier will be looking to carry her momentum across the river after a strong showing last week in Brossard. She did not drop a set in five matches, including qualifying, on her way to her first professional semifinal. 

Mercier, a wildcard this week in Montreal, will open against No. 3 seed Jessica Failla.  

Seven Canadians are already in the main draw. Ana Grubor is the highest-ranked Canadian, seeded seventh. Iulia Bucea and Rhea Verma also received direct entry based on ranking. Mercier, Dong, Xu, and Jada Bui all received wildcards. 

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At least three Canadians are guaranteed to join the main draw as qualifiers, as three of the final eight qualifying matches are between Canadians. As many as seven could qualify. 

Trio of All-Canadian Teams in Montreal Doubles 

The host nation features heavily in the doubles draw, with seven pairs featuring Canadians including three all-Canadian teams. 

Zoya Chulak and Emma Andrea Tutoveanu will open against the second seeds Paris Corley and Dasha Ivanova of the United States, while Isabella Marton and Victoria Wang will face off with Emma and Juliette Mazzonni of France. 

Clemence Mercier and Anna-Raphaelle Serghi got a bye and could face the top seeds Alice Robbe and Jessie Aney in the second round. 

Four other pairs feature a Canadian player, including Naomi Xu who, along with partner American Mara Schmidt, will face Robbe and Aney in the first round. 

Brossard champions Ashton Bowers and Zuzana Pawlikowska are seeded third.