The Winnipeg National Bank Challenger marks the second-to-last event on the Road to NBO as a handful of Canadians take the court at the Winnipeg Lawn Tennis Club in the Manitoban capital.
Days after finishing as runner-up in Laval, Justin Boulais looks to establish himself as the biggest challenger to Liam Draxl in the Road to NBO standings. The 23-year-old from Oakville gained automatic entry into the Winnipeg Challenger main draw as a wild card, with his first-round opponent being No. 7 seed Yu Hsiou Hsu of Chinese Taipei.
Just a single point behind Boulais for second is Alexis Galarneau, who makes his sixth-straight appearance in Winnipeg. The No. 4 seed has not made it out of the tournament’s first round since the 26-year-old was a finalist in 2022. Galarneau will face American Andres Martin in his opening match on Tuesday.
The Laval-native is joined by a pair of fellow Canucks on his half of the draw. Road to NBO leader Liam Draxl comes in as the No. 2 seed, fresh off a runner-up finish at the ATP Challenger event in Cary, North Carolina last week.
Juan Carlos Aguliar is the third Canadian in the same half of the draw. Both Aguliar and Draxl await a qualifier in their respective opening matches.
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In qualifying, Nicolas Arseneault, Keegan Rice, and Alvin Nicholas Tudorica are still alive and all play on Tuesday.
The doubles draw only features two all-Canadian teams, who are on opposite ends of the bracket.
However, both teams could come up against a fellow Canuck in the second round. With opening-match wins, the Arseneault twins would play Canadian Kelsey Stevenson and partner Marek Gengel of Czechia.
The same goes for Tudorica and Benjamin Thomas George, as there is potential to meet the No. 1-seeded team of Draxl and Ecuadorian Andres Andrade in their second match.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
