Canada’s 60+ age group was represented well across the Atlantic as a few Canadians on the ITF Masters Tour contested for a title at a pair of MT400 events in Europe.
Here is the monthly Masters Tennis update by ABRYSVO.
MT400 Leverkusen
The all-Canadian team of Scott Gerrity and Marcel Joubert were up against it at the MT400 Leverkusen Open, but the duo managed to stun the top two seeds to secure the title.
Gerrity and Joubert were the lowest-ranked seeds of the field of four in the 60+ men’s doubles draw and were drawn against the No. 1 seeded Germans Roy Edward Balummel and Michael Stracke with a place in the final on the line.
However, the Canucks stunned the home favourites, dropping just two games to cruise to the final with a 6-1, 6-1 win.
Gerrity and Joubert then battled No. 2 seeds Irmik Abayev of Azerbaijan and Wolfgang Nolze of Germany for the title. The all-Canadian duo again won in straight sets, comfortably taking the match 6-4, 6-2 to hoist their second ITF trophy as a team.
The triumph in Leverkusen brought Gerrity up 156 spots to 143rd in the 60+ men’s doubles rankings, while Joubert jumped nearly 1000 spots to 440th.
MT400 Antibes
Marie Josee Pachl competed for her fourth MT400 singles title at the World Masters Tour d’Antibes.
Pachl entered the 60+ women’s singles draw as the No. 1 seed and finished top of her round-robin group without losing a set in her two matches.
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The Canadian faced Frenchwoman Rozenn Guinard for the title, who dropped just nine games in her three group matches. In the final, Guinard cruised to victory with a double-bagel win.
Pachl fell short of her second Antibes title, her first coming in 2021 in 30+ women’s singles.
MT200 Guanyang
While Canadians on the ATP and WTA Tour set their sights on silverware in China, the Masters Tour had a stop in the Middle Kingdom, led by Canada’s Da Hong Wong.
Wong was the top seed in 50+ men’s singles at the MT200 Guanyang and lived up to that billing, hoisting the trophy after not losing a set through his three matches. The Canadian’s toughest test came in the semifinal as Wong beat Rui Carvalho of Portugal in two tight sets 4-2, 5-3.
In the final, Wong faced An Qin of China and cruised to a 4-1, 4-1 win to secure his first singles title at the 200 level.
Wong was also the top seed in 55+ mixed doubles alongside China’s Zhongping Li. The Canadian-Chinese duo dropped just five games in their three matches, winning the final against the all-Chinese team of Cong Ye and Jundong Zhao 4-2, 4-1.
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This was Wong’s second mixed doubles title of the year after coming out on top in 55+ mixed doubles on home soil at the MT1000 Mont-Tremblant ITF Cup.
