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Quite a lot has happened since we last did one of these; summer has turned to fall, the baseball regular season has concluded, while the hockey season has begun – oh, and Bianca Andreescu has made Canadian tennis history… twice.

It’s no surprise the 19-year-old from Mississauga is our Canadian Star of the Month for August and September. Becoming the first Canadian to win Rogers Cup in 50 years (Faye Urban, 1969) and the first Canadian to claim a Grand Slam singles title in history will do that for you.

Those two victories were the crowning moments of a meteoric rise so far in 2019. Currently on a 17-match winning run, the teenager has built quite the reputation on her way to a career-high No. 5 (Sept. 9th) ranking on the WTA Tour.

Having not played a match since the French Open in May, when she was forced to retire due to injury in the second round, Andreescu returned to action at Rogers Cup as if she hadn’t missed a beat since her spectacular run to the Indian Wells title in March.

Starting with a hard-fought victory over compatriot Eugenie Bouchard in the first round, Andreescu saw off the challenges of Daria Kasatkina, fifth-seed Kiki Bertens, third-seed Karolina Pliskova, Sofia Kenin and the great Serena Williams (retired) on her way to claiming the title in Toronto.

Then, at the US Open, the teenager made another unexpected run to the final, beating the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Elise Mertens and Belinda Bencic in the process. In the showpiece event, she would face Williams once again – this time overcoming her in two sets (6-3, 7-5).

Honourable Mentions

Photo: Mauricio Paiz

Two semi-final appearances over the course of August and September meant Denis Shapovalov was in contention for our Star of the Month award. The 20-year-old, who had been struggling to find his groove in previous months, returned to form by reaching the last four at the Winston-Salem Open and the Chengdu Open respectively.

A hard-fought, five-setter against 13th-seed Gael Monfils in the third round of the US Open is also nothing to scoff at, while the chance to play alongside fellow Canadian Milos Raonic and John Isner under the guidance of tennis legend John McEnroe at Laver Cup was also a highlight.

Photo: Mauricio Paiz

Félix Auger-Aliassime was also up for contention. The 19-year-old produced a solid showing at Rogers Cup in his hometown of Montreal, beating fellow Canadians Raonic and Pospisil on his way to the round of 16.

In August, the youngster also overtook Raonic as the highest-ranked men’s player on the ATP Tour, jumping into the Top 20 for the first time and into the No. 19 spot.

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