Liam Draxl was the star on the second version of the Edmonton Nationwide Financial institution Challenger final week, profitable each the singles and doubles titles on the ITF M25 match. Canadians accounted for wins in three of the 4 attracts on the mixed occasion, with Kayla Cross lifting the trophy within the ladies’s doubles.
Seeded No. 2 within the singles, Draxl strung collectively a sequence of straight-set wins to guide his ticket to the ultimate, ousting Jim Hendrikx of the Netherlands adopted by his fellow Canadians Nicaise Muamba and Alvin Nicolas Tudorica.
Within the semis, he beat American Adhithya Ganesan earlier than ending off the title run with a win over one other American, Patrick Maloney, 6-4, 6-1 so as to add a sixth skilled singles title to his report and lift his first trophy of the season.
Draxl was one in every of 4 Canadian males to achieve the singles quarter-finals. Taha Baadi additionally reached the semifinals, upsetting prime seed Aziz Dougaz within the final eight, earlier than falling to Maloney.
It was double delight for the 22-year-old Draxl as he additionally claimed the doubles title with Cleeve Harper, profitable an all-Canadian ultimate over Benjamin Thomas George and Alvin Tudorica 6-4, 6-4. The win was their second in 2024 as a pair. Draxl now has eight ITF doubles titles to his title whereas Harper has six.
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The duo dropped just one set alongside the best way, within the semis in opposition to Lucas Hammond and Boris Kozlov of america. Within the first two rounds, Draxl and Harper, who have been the highest seeds in Edmonton, defeated all-Canadian pairs: Adam Faragcao and Joshua Peck in spherical one adopted by the twins Mikael and Nicolas Arseneault within the quarter-finals.
Three of the 4 titles in Edmonton have been received by the host nation as Kayla Cross claimed the ladies’s doubles title with American Maribella Zamarripa. They clinched the title with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Jessica Failla and Anna Rogers of america.
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The win is the fourth of the season and sixth general for Cross in doubles. Seeded third, the pair needed to grind via match tiebreaks of their first two rounds earlier than knocking off the in-form prime seeds Ariana Arseneault and Mia Kupres within the semis.
Within the singles, Julie Belgraver of France denied the host nation of a sweep, beating Arseneault 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 within the ultimate. The Frenchwoman received all her matches in three units, together with wins over Canadians Cross within the second spherical and Cadence Brace within the quarter-finals earlier than besting Arseneault for the title.
