Upset, upsetting, more upsetting.
Some of tennis’ biggest stars have fallen to some of the most unlikely opponents.
No Canadian has made it past the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, but it takes 10 TVs to keep up with all the Canadian action at Granby.
Here’s what you should know:
In case you missed it: Cincinnati was unpredictable
The Western and Southern Open produced a very different result than the previous tournaments held in Toronto and Montreal.
Pablo Carreno Busta and Simona Halep were Rogers-presented National Bank Open champions, but were eliminated in the first two rounds (although Halep was forced to withdraw due to injury). From there, we saw many of the top seeds drop early and often on both the ATP and WTA sides.
On the women’s team, USA’s Madison Keys defeated world No. 1 Iga Świątek 6-3, 6-4 in the third round. Świątek has failed to make it past the round of 16 in four tournaments since winning the French Open in June.
Canada’s Layla Annie Fernandez also suffered a straight set loss to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round and the tournament was suspended.
Ultimately, qualifying starter Caroline Garcia beat Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4 to take the lead. The 28-year-old edged past the likes of Maria Sakkari, Jessica Pegula and Alina Sabalenka to reach the final, earning her 1000 title at the Masters for the third time since 2017.
In the men’s, Carreño Busta failed to make it through the opening round, while his final opponent Hubert Harkaz could not do better after losing to John Isner in the round of 32. After day two, he lost to wildcard Ben Shelton.
But the story of this tournament begins and ends with Borna Coric.
The 25-year-old started making headlines when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the Round of 32 in a hard-fought third setter. From there, he began to show overwhelming strength with his 6-2 6-3 sweep over Roberto Bautista Agut.
In the quarter-finals, Coric next defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-4 before beating Cameron Nollie in straight sets to reach the final.
Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas was unable to stop the Croatian in the final, and Čoric completed the fairy tale, ending with a 7-6 (0), 6-2 win.
What to see: Canada represented by Granby
The National Bank Open hosted by Rogers is over, but the ATP and WTA tours aren’t over in Canada yet.
The Granby National Bank Championship women’s singles draw began on Sunday, and it’s safe to say Canada is well represented.
Kayla Cross, Cadence Brace and Marina Stakusic all won the qualifying rounds to join Rebecca Marino, Victoria Mboko and Katherine Sebov in the main draw.
Sebov then came from behind to beat Wang Xinyu 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to become the first Canadian to advance to the tournament.
Monday is day two of the men’s qualifiers, with four Canadians vying for a place in the main draw. Kelsey Stevenson, Justin Bouley, Dan He Martin and Tahavardi are all set to take part in the main draw, which has already been joined by his four other Canadian players.
Under the radar: Shapovalov shows signs of old self in Cincinnati
The recent past has not been easy for Denis Shapovalov. Going into Cincinnati, the Canadians hadn’t won in a row since May.
Most recently, in Montreal, he looked underwhelmed when he lost to Alex De Minaur in the first round.
In Cincinnati, Shapovalov started the tournament with a tough first set victory over Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6(4). But in the second set, the 23-year-old took control and closed the match 6-3.
Shapovalov carried that momentum into a tough second-round matchup against American Tommy Paul, and midway through the second set the Canadian began to look like his old self.
Down 6-3, 4-1, Shapovalov won five straight games to win the second set and the third 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
In the round of 16 he faced world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, and despite losing the match, Shapovalov showed he could once again compete with the best in the world, scoring a break point in a close 5-7, 5-7 match. saved 77% of .
Here you can follow Canadians’ activities each week.
