Photo: Jorge Ferrari
Away from the Davis Cup Finals in Valencia, another quartet of Canadians are vying for top honours at the Chennai Open, a WTA 250 event in India and three of those players have already advanced to the quarter-finals.
Eugenie Bouchard’s comeback following shoulder surgery carries on with her first two-match win streak since her return to the tour last month. On Wednesday, she defeated Karman Thandi of India 6-2, 7-6(2) to reach the final eight. The 28-year-old managed to secure a straight sets win despite falling behind by a break in the second set. In the opening round, Bouchard topped Joanne Zuger of Switzerland 7-6(4), 6-2. She next awaits the winner of the match between Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska and fourth-seeded Tatjana Maria of Germany. The Canadian is also playing doubles alongside Yanina Wickmayer and the pair won their first match.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Marino has also reached the quarter-finals in singles thanks to a 7-5, 6-3 victory over world no. 74 Katarzyna Kawa of Poland as her run of strong play continues after a third round appearance at the U.S. Open. She will face either Oksana Selekhmeteva or third-seeded Magda Linette on Friday. This is Marino’s third WTA quarter-final of the season and her third in the past six weeks. For her part, Carol Zhao will attempt to make it three Canadians in the final eight on Thursday when she goes up against the tournament’s second seed, Varvara Gracheva.
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In doubles, Gabriela Dabrowski is reunited with Luisa Stefani this week. The Brazilian is playing her first tournament since suffering a serious knee injury in the semifinal of the U.S. Open last year. She and Dabrowski enjoyed a successful 2021 season together and picked up right where they left off in Chennai, securing s 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Despina Papamichail and Katie Swan to begin their title bid as the top seeds in the draw.
