Professional tennis is back in Canada to kick off a busy month in the Great White North. This week, the ITF men’s tour makes a stop in Laval, QC, for an M25 event.
There are three men’s events on the lower tours over the next three weeks, with ATP Challengers in Winnipeg and Granby following Laval. These three events are the last ones on the Road to the NBO, which will award a wildcard to the main event on Canadian soil, the National Bank Open, which gets underway on July 26.
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13 Canadian men are in the singles draw in Laval this week, including two seeds: Alvin Tudorica (3) and Dan Martin (7). Tudorica is one of only two seeds of the eight who did not draw a Canadian in the first round.
The 23-year-old will open his campaign against American Matt Kuhar and could face countryman Duncan Chan in the second round if the Canadian beats Aussie qualifier Ethan Cook. Tudorica is in the second quarter of the draw with fifth seed Kenta Miyoshi of Japan, his projected quarter-final opponent, and could meet top seed Christian Langmo of the United States in the semis.
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Langmo will only face Canadians until at least the quarter-finals, and even then, he is projected to meet seventh seed Martin. He opens against Mikael Arseneault and would face the winner between Canadians Alexandre Bergeron and Keegan Rice in the second round.
Martin has an all-Canadian clash with Benjamin Thomas George in the first round.
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Second seed Garrett Johns of the USA meets Canadian lucky loser Sid Donarski in the first round and could face another Canadian, Justin Boulais, in round two. Sixth seed Karl Poling also opens against a Canadian, Nicaise Muamba, and could face the other Arseneault twin, Nicolas, in round two.
Canadian qualifier Alexander Rozin meets fourth seed Aidan McHugh of the United Kingdom in his opening match and is in the same quarter as Poling. Adam Farag-Cao rounds out the Canadian contingent. He faces American Cooper Woestendick in the first round and could play Mayoshi in round two.
50 points are up for grabs in the Road to the NBO if a Canadian man is able to win the title. All points this week and at the two upcoming Challenger events are worth double.
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In doubles, Tudorica and George are the third-seeded pair, the highest-seeded Canadians in the draw. 14 Canadians are entered in doubles overall, including six all-Canadian teams.
There is an all-Canadian quarter of the doubles draw, meaning one all-Canadian team is guaranteed to reach the semis. That is Tudorica and George’s quarter, where they face Farag-Cao and Rice in round one and would meet the winner of Antoine Clavel and Loic Petrecca vs the Arseneault twins in the quarters.
The British pair of Ben Jones and McHugh are the top seeds.
Feature Photo : USF Athletics
