Photo: Kyle Clapham
New singles champions were crowned on Sunday at the Calgary National Bank Challenger. The third edition of the tournament was a combined event for the first time this year and was hosted at the OSTEN & VICTOR Alberta Tennis Centre in Calgary.
The women’s title was won by fifth-seeded American Robin Montgomery, ranked no. 247 in the world. The 18-year-old rising star defeated former world no. 29 Urszula Radwanska of Poland 7-6(6), 7-5 in the final to capture her first ITF crown of the season and second of her young career. She saved a set point in the opening set tiebreak and erased a break deficit in the second frame to come away with a straight sets victory. She also avenged the loss she suffered at the hands of Radwanska in the Tevlin Challenger quarter-finals two weeks ago in Toronto.
Montgomery is also a two-time junior Grand Slam champion. She swept both the singles and doubles titles at the U.S. Open in 2021. As a pro, she has now appeared in five ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour finals, including three this year.
Dominik Koepfer Wins First Challenger Title Since 2019
Former world no. 50 Dominik Koepfer of Germany lifted the men’s trophy thanks to a straightforward 6-2, 6-4 victory over fourth-seeded Aussie Aleksandar Vukic in Sunday’s championship match. The win gives the 28-year-old his first ATP Challenger Tour title in three years and the second of his career. It also marks his second triumph in Canada after capturing top honours at the ITF Futures event in Sherbrooke, Quebec four years ago.
Koepfer enjoyed a breakthrough campaign on the ATP Tour in 2021. He reached his first ATP semifinal at the 500 event in Acapulco and also reached the third round at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the Tokyo Olympics. His strong results allowed him to achieve a career-best ranking of no. 50 in May of last year. This season, he has struggled with injuries which meant he couldn’t defend a lot of his points. His Calgary win will propel him back inside the top 200 on the ATP rankings at no. 194.
The ATP Challenger Tour now moves to Quebec this week for the Drummondville National Bank Challenger at Tennis intérieur René-Verrier. Just like Calgary, Gabriel Diallo, Alexis Galarneau, and Vasek Pospisil will lead the Canadian contingent for the seventh edition of the tournament.
