On Saturday, Alexis Galarneau reached the second and final round of qualifying at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers at IGA Stadium.
He masterfully disposed of sixth-seeded Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina in two identical sets (6-4, 6-4).
Tomorrow, the Quebecer takes on Rinky Hijikata for a spot in the main draw. The Aussie defeated Daniel Altmaier 7-6(4), 6-1 to advance.
Tough day for the Canadians
It can never be emphasized enough: the qualifying rounds of a Masters 1000 tournament are a battle of titans. The 14 seeded competitors are all card-carrying members of the world elite, ranking between No.49 and No.83.
At a Slam, many of them would be entered directly in the main draw without having to qualify. But at a Masters 1000, they have to spar in two often tricky qualifying matches.
The three other Canadians in the first round didn’t make it through.
Read: PWHL vs. ATP Ball Hockey Game Scores Big on Day One in Montreal
Liam Draxl (Newmarket, ON) was defeated by Borna Coric of Croatia, a former member of the Top 20. Taha Baadi fell to Jakub Mensik (7) of Czechia (6-3, 7-5).
Up against American Brandon Nakashima, who’s seen his fair share of main draws, Nicolas Arsenault lost 6-3, 6-2.
Finally, the top seed, No.49 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, was stopped in his tracks by Mackenzie McDonald of the US (6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4).
On Sunday, the deciding round gets underway at 11 a.m. Seven players will punch their ticket for the main draw. Alexis Galarneau is the last Canadian standing.
Feature photo: Pascal Ratthé
Featured in this news
Related news
