Montreal Day 4 Recap Served Up by IGA: de…

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For the first time since the start of the tournament, sunshine and blue skies hovered over IGA Stadium as opening round play wrapped up and some of the top 32 seeds saw their first action at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.

Aussie Alex de Minaur, seeded third in the event, defeated his compatriot James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6(6) to advance to round three. Eighth-seeded Jiri Lehecka also moved on thanks to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over fellow Czech Vit Kopriva. American Frances Tiafoe, seeded no. 15, kicked off the night session on Centre Court with 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over former Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic.

READ: Canadians come close but exit at NBO in Tuesday’s day session

On the flip side, no. 12 seed Andrey Rublev, a finalist in Montreal two years ago, was upset by former world no. 47 Juncheng Shang of China despite holding multiple match points in the third set.

Tuesday’s evening session was sold out with the likes of NHL star Logan Cooley and Brett Berard, the newest member of the Montreal Canadiens, in attendance.

READ: New team, new outlook for Tsitsipas, who earned first Montreal win

The third round lineup will be completed on Wednesday with the likes of Félix Auger-Aliassime, Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, and Joao Fonseca getting their NBO campaigns started.

Paying Tribute to Marc Messier

Before the start of Tuesday’s evening session, Tennis Canada paid tribute to late Quebec actor Marc Messier, who passed away earlier this year. Messier was a big tennis fan, a regular attendee at the NBO and a former tournament spokesperson.

During the ceremony, ball kids came out wearing ‘Les Boys’ hockey jerseys in honour of Messier’s most famous role and film.

Celebrating 25 Years of Partnership with Rogers

Tuesday was Rogers First Set Day at the NBO as we recognized the 25^th anniversary of our partnership with Rogers. For the occasion, the Rogers First Set program took centre stage with mini tennis activities throughout the day to promote introducing kids to tennis in a fun and safe environment.