The final phase of the Challenge of the North circuit concluded this past Sunday, as Mélodie Collard and Sid Donarski were crowned champions. The finals were disputed at Parc St-Luc in Granby, with the previous phases having taken place in Montreal, Repentigny and Laval.
Leading up to the final, all players had to play in at least two of the three initial phases in order to qualify for a spot to play in Granby. The players accumulated points during the first three phases and the top eight players from each category were eligible to compete in the final.
After two days of tightly disputed matches in Granby, the top seeds in the men’s and women’s draws were competing for a chance to take home the title on Sunday. On the women’s side, the no. 1 seed Mélodie Collard was going into the final having won all three previous phases of the circuit. She was taking on the no. 3 seed Mia Kupres, who finished runner-up in the last phase in Laval. During the final on Sunday, it was Collard who got the better of her compatriot, taking home the title thanks to a 6-1, 6-2 win.
“The past few weeks have been really enjoyable. I would like to thank everyone who helped organize this circuit in each of the cities we competed. Without you, we would not have been able to play any tennis matches for a long period of time,” stated Collard after her victory.
In the men’s final, the top seed Sid Donarski was taking on Washi Gervais, who had ousted the no. 2 and 3 seeds in the previous rounds. For his part, Donarski was coming into Sunday’s final having won the two first phases of the circuit, in Montreal and Repentigny. Despite the final score line, many of the points were tightly disputed between the two players. In the end, it was Donarski who captured the crown with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.
As for some of the other matches, the no. 2 seed Annabelle Xu took home third place, defeating Victoria Mboko 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in their final match on Sunday. Kamen Damov, the fourth seed, overcame the no. 3 seed Christophe Clément by a score of 6-3, 6-2 to finish third in the men’s draw.
The final results can be found below:
The Challenge of the North regrouped a number of junior and transition players from Quebec and Ontario who took part in a series of competitive tournaments over the course of a few weeks. All of the cities that hosted the various phases of this circuit were sites where Tennis Canada was forced to cancel international events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
