Photo: Valérie Simard
The singles draw at the Saguenay National Bank Challenger has reached its last stage with just two players remaining in title contention at the $60,000 ITF World Tennis Tour event being held at the Saguenay Indoor Tennis Club until October 23.
Saturday’s first semifinal saw India’s Karman Kaur Thandi, ranked no. 308 in the world, continue the stellar play which she has displayed throughout the tournament. The 24-year-old defeated eighth-seeded American Francesca Di Lorenzo 6-4, 6-2 in just over an hour to reach her second and biggest ITF final of the season. She has won all four of her matches so far in straight sets and hasn’t lost more than four games in any of those eight sets. Thandi has one ITF singles title to her credit this year which she won in June on home soil in Gurugram, India. She also met Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in the second round of the Chennai Open last month in her lone WTA appearance this season.
Canadian Sebov Reaches Second Saguenay Final
Toronto native Katherine Sebov proved once again on Saturday that she feels right at home in Saguenay after securing an impressive 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 upset victory over third-seeded Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw at no. 207 in the world, to reach the final of the event for the second time in her career. This was her third win of the week over a seeded player after knocking out the top-seed, Moyuka Uchijima of Japan, in the second round and fifth-seeded Eudice Chong in the quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old Canadian was crowned champion in Saguenay in 2018 after defeating Quirine Lemoine in the championship match. The triumph marks the lone professional title of her career so far. She will be making her second final appearance of the season, nine months after playing for top honours at the $25,000 ITF event in Monastir, Tunisia in January.
Hartono successfully redeemed herself in doubles with her partner, Olivia Tjandramulia. The second-seeded duo fought back to top Catherine Harrison and Yanina Wickmayer 5-7, 7-6(3), 10-8 to take home the doubles crown. The pair also won the title last week at the $25,000 ITF tournament in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Sunday’s singles final will get underway at 12:00 p.m. ET.
