The host nation had reason to celebrate in the first week of domestic professional events held in Canada as Dan Martin walked away with the doubles title at the ITF M25 event in Sherbrooke, QC last week.
He was the only Canadian winner at the two events held in Quebec, with the top honours at the women’s tournament in Trois-Rivieres being claimed by representatives of the United Kingdom and United States.
M15 Sherbrooke
Martin and his American partner Matt Kuhar had to mostly do it the hard way in Sherbrooke. They needed match tiebreaks in all three of their matches, although they did get a walkover in the quarter-finals.
The pair knocked off the top seeds Keshav Chopra and Philip Jordan of the United States in the semifinals before defeating another all-American pair, Andrew Fenty and Daniel Milavsky, 10-8 in the match tiebreak in the final. It is Martin’s second professional doubles title, having won his first earlier in the year in Huamantla, Mexico.
In singles, the last Canadian standing was wildcard Nicaise Muamba, who lost to the eventual champion Patrick Maloney of the United States in the quarter-finals. Muamba very nearly upset the top-seeded Maloney, taking the opening set and pushing the second to a tiebreak before the American escaped in three sets. The Canadian picked up a pair of points in the Road to the NBO as a result of his quarter-final appearance and currently sits 11th in the men’s standings.
Maloney defeated Milavksy, who lost both the singles and doubles finals in Sherbrooke, for the title in three sets.
W15 Trois-Rivieres
Top seed Emily Appleton of Great Britain lived up to her status as the favourite in Trois-Rivieres, claiming the singles title. She beat No. 5 seed Malaika Rapolu of the United States in three sets in the final.
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In the doubles, it was the unseeded pair of Elizabeth Ionescu and Christasha McNeil lifting the trophy. They beat the third seeds Dasha Ivanova and Amy Zhu in the final 10-2 in the match tiebreak. All four finalists were American.
No Canadian made it past the quarter-finals in either draw. Clemence Mercier came very close in singles, taking the opening set and ultimately falling 8-6 in the third-set tiebreak of her clash with Valentina Ivanov of New Zealand. Mercier was the only Canadian in singles to reach the quarter-finals.
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As a result of her run to the last eight, Mercier picked up three points in the Road to the NBO and currently sits 14th in the women’s race.
The all-Canadian pair of Brooke Feth and Anna Tabunshchyk reached the doubles quarter-finals, as did Raphaelle Lacasse and her American partner Taylor Gruber, but both teams lost in straight sets.
ITF action descends on Montreal this week with both the men and women competing at 15-level events at IGA Stadium.
CLICK HERE for the latest standings in the Road to the NBO.
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