Since Quebec's Bob Bedard won in 1958, no Canadian has won the event at the Jarry Tennis Center this year.
Article Author:
Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette
Canadians win this year Canadian Open men's tennis championship.
Never been done in the open age. Must date back to 1958. That's when Quebec's Bob Bedard defeated US's Whitney Reed to win his second-oldest tennis tournament in the world for his third time.
Canada's best hopes for a homegrown winner at this year's National Bank Open lie with Montreal native Felix Auger, his aliasime, seeded sixth after Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal withdraw. I'm here. He was the most consistent Canadian on the tour this year, winning his first ATP title in Rotterdam in February, cementing his place in the top ten.
But Auger-Aliassime, who turns 22 on Sunday, has never played well in the Canadian Showcase event, as he finished his best in his four appearances. The win came in 2019 when he defeated fellow Canadians Basek Pospisil and Milos Raonic. He then lost in the Round of 16 to Karen He Khachanov of Russia.
He probably won't make his first appearance on Center Court until Wednesday. This will give him time to recalibrate his body clock after playing for Los his Cabos on the west coast of Mexico this week. He played Cameron Norry in the semi-finals late Friday night.
For Auger-Aliassime, the draw in Montreal went well. If form holds up, he will face Norrie again in the third round and has his 4-0 career record against British players. He will face fourth seed Casper Ruud (Norway) in the quarterfinals. Auger-Aliassime and Rude split up his two previous meetings.
The draw was not friendly to his 56 mains and his three other Canadians in his draw.
Denis Shapovalov has the talent to contend for the title, but his game has been in turmoil since reaching the semi-finals in Rome in May. His first-round loss to American JJ Wolfe in Washington this week leaves him with one win in his last eight games, dropping his ranking to No. 22. He faces a tough test when he faces Alex De Minaur in the first round. The Australian ranks just ahead of Shapovalov at No. 21 and has a career 2-0 record against the Canadian.
Laval's Alexis Galarneau will take on No. 16-seeded Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, while Vasek Pospisil in his same wild card will take on USA's Tommy Paul. Seeded 19-year-old Spanish prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, who received a warm welcome when introduced in the draw.
Nadal won the first of his five Canadian Open titles at the age of 19, but withdrew on Friday morning due to an abdominal injury, leaving Nick his Kyrgios and was forced to bye in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
"(Nadal) will miss him, but he's won enough titles," said third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas with a smile. ``This gives someone else a chance.''[65][66]Kyrgios, who entered the main draw because vaccine-phobic Djokovic was barred from entering Canada, said he would be playing against Argentina's Sebastian Baez. , but the winner will face No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev.
Qualifying matches begin Saturday at 10:00 AM and continue on Sunday. During the IGA Family Weekend, fans get free entry to the grounds on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition to tennis, there is a ball hockey game from 4pm. Saturday will pit the tennis players against his NHL lineup, which includes Jonathan Druin and Nick Suzuki of the Canadiens. Jonathan Huberdeau, who just signed a rich extension after being traded to the Calgary Flames, will also play.
phickey@postmedia.com
Twitter. com/zababes1
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Rafael Nadal withdraws from National Bank Open with abdominal injury
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Auger-Aliassime wins straight sets to reach Los Cabos Open semifinals
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Healthy again. Vasek Pospisil's eyes entered the top 50 of his ATP rankings
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