Photo : @justinboulais_
One trophy down, two to go.
Juan Carlos Aguilar and Justin Boulais were the first Canadian champions at the 2023 Calgary National Bank Challenger, but two more could join them in the winner’s circle on Sunday.
The all-Canadian tandem easily defeated the British team of Charles Broom and Ben Jones in the men’s doubles final 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday. It is the first ATP Challenger title for both men.
There is a chance that both singles titles could be won by Canadians as Stacey Fung and Liam Draxl both advanced to Sunday’s singles finals.
Read also: Boulais Wins Edmonton Title
Fung is the highest-ranked player left in the women’s draw and looked like it in the semifinals, taking out a former WTA Top 30 player Urszula Radwanska in straight sets 6-1, 6-3.
Standing between Fung and a fourth title of the year will be former Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki. The German defeated seventh seed Jamie Loeb 6-1, 6-2 in the semis on Saturday.
On the men’s side, Draxl advanced to his first ATP Challenger final with a tough three-set win over American Andres Martin. The former Kentucky Wildcat will go for his third title of the season in his sixth final against top seed Dominik Koepfer. Draxl has only won M15 titles in his career and had never previously reached a final above the M25 level.
Read also: History Has Its Eyes on Canada at the Billie Jean King Cup
Koepfer got a free pass to the final when Canadian Davis Cup Team member Gabriel Diallo withdrew.
While the British team was denied in the men’s doubles, they got their hands on the trophy in the women’s as Sarah Beth Grey and Eden Silva claimed the title, defeating the American/Serbian team of Hanna Chang and Katerina Jokic 6-4, 6-4.
The singles finals will take place on Sunday.
