Photo : Sarah-Jäde Champagne
Three seeded players have booked their spot in the semi-finals at the Drummondville National Bank Challenger. The tournament, which offers $54,160 in total prize money, will be played from February 17-23 at the René-Verrier indoor tennis club in Drummondville.
Playing in the first match of the day, Maxime Cressy of the United States, the 14th seed, was taking on Tobias Kamke of Germany, the 10th seed. The American had been dominant throughout the week, taking all of his matches without dropping a set. He continued his momentum on Friday, needing just under an hour and a half to defeat Kamke by a score of 6-4. 6-3. In the semi-finals, he will face the only unseeded player left in the draw, Johannes Haerteis of Germany. After ousting the no. 16 seed Goncalo Oliveira earlier in the week, he proceeded to cause the upset against no. 8 Roberto Cid Subervi from the Dominican Republic. He booked his spot thanks to a 1-6 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Having defeated the No. 1 seed Dominik Koepfer in the previous round, Yosuke Watanaku of Japan (no. 15) was up against the no. 12 Arthur Rinderknech of France. It was another expeditious match, as the Frenchman got the better of his opponent by score of 6-2, 6-4. The final player to book his spot in the semi-finals was the no. 3 seed Christopher O’Connell of Australia. Playing in front of a nearly sold out crowd, he put forward a very solid performance over no. 11 Sebastian Korda, winning the match 6-3, 6-4.
Despite falling in singles, Cid Subervi managed to reach the doubles final along his partner Goncalo Oliveira. The pair ousted the Japanese duo of Shintaro Imai and Go Soeda by a score of 6-1, 3-6, 10-7. Also reaching the final was the French team of Manuel Guinard and Arthur Rinderknech, who got the better of the second seeds, Treat Huey of the Philippines and Nathaniel Lammons of the United States, thanks to a 6-4, 4-6, 10-1 victory. Saturday’s doubles final will be the third match on Centre Court, with the day’s action set to begin at noon.
*Feature photo: Sarah-Jäde Champagne
