Monday Digest: Dabrowski Comes Close at Miami Open

Photo : Mauricio Paiz

Gabriela Dabrowski continues to be a reliable presence in the Canadian tennis landscape, highlighted by yet another impressive run last week at the Miami Open. But the Canadian will heading to the clay hungry for more after a near miss at the 1000-level event.

She and Erin Routliffe have been a force on the hard courts since last summer, but now they will have to bring their A-game to a new surface as the dirt takes over.

Here’s what you need to know.

In Case You Missed It: Dabrowski Edged at Miami Open

Canadian interest in week two of the Miami Open was focused entirely on Gabriela Dabrowski and the women’s doubles, where she and Erin Routliffe reached their second WTA 1000 final.

While they do have a bigger title to their name, victory at the 1000 level continues to elude the Canadian-Kiwi duo as they lost a heartbreaker in the Miami final to Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

After rallying from a set down in the semis to beat Asia Muhammad and Alycia Parks, Dabrowski and Routliffe stood two points away from the title in both the second set tiebreak and the match tiebreak, but ultimately had to settle for runner-up trophies.

All Canadian singles players were eliminated in the first week of Miami.

What to Watch: Clay has Come

Clay takes over the tours this week with 500 and 250 level events across four continents.

While most of the big events during the clay season take place in Europe, the Canadian focus remains on a trio of events in the Americas to start.

Leylah Annie Fernandez has her eyes on the biggest prize of the week, competing at the WTA 500 event in Charleston. Seeded 14^th, she has a bye and will meet Sloane Stephens in the second round.

The Canadian is in line to meet world No. 6 Ons Jabeur in the third round, although Paula Badosa and last week’s Miami champion Danielle Collins are both lurking in that loaded section of the draw.

Should she overcome an inevitably difficult third-round match, seventh seed Elina Svitolina could be waiting in the quarter-finals, followed by Maria Sakkari or Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semis.

Also in action on the WTA Tour this week are Rebecca Marino, Marina Stakusic, and Carol Zhao, who are all competing at the 250 event in Bogota, Colombia.

Marino could not have had worse luck with the draw, as she will face the top seed in both singles and doubles. She meets No. 1 seed Marie Bouzkova in the first round of the singles, while she and Zhao will clash with the top-seeded pair of Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the doubles.

Read also: Shapovalov – 2024 Edition

Stakusic will face the top local player, No. 6 seed Camila Osorio, in the first round and is in the bottom quarter of the draw with No. 2 seed Tatjana Maria, a potential quarter-final opponent.

Denis Shapovalov is the lone Canadian man competing on the ATP Tour this week, kicking off his clay campaign in Houston at the ATP 250 event. He will face No. 7 seed Marcos Giron in round one

A win would set up a clash with another American JJ Wolf before potentially meeting second seed Francisco Cerundolo in the quarter-finals. No. 3 seed Frances Tiafoe is the projected semifinal opponent, with top seed Ben Shelton possibly waiting in the final.

Under the Radar:

Liam Draxl came the closest of any Canadian to grabbing a trophy last week on the lower circuits, reaching the doubles final at the ATP Challenger event in Sao Leo, Brazil.

He and Italian partner Alexander Weis did not drop a set on their way to the final, where they lost 10-8 in the match tiebreak to second seeds Marcelo Demoliner and Orlando Luz.

While no Canadians reached the final of the WTA 125 event in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, there was a particular result of note as Marina Stakusic and Rebecca Marino met in the first round. It was the younger Canadian Stakusic walking away with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 victory over her veteran countrywoman.

Stakusic lost to the eventual champion Nadia Podoroska in the second round.

On the ATP Challenger Tour this week, Vasek Pospisil and Gabriel Diallo are competing at an event in Mexico City.

At home, the 2024 Fischer Indoor Junior Nationals are taking place. Last week, the U12 and U16 champions were crowned. This week, the U14 and U18 championships are taking place.

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here. 

Written By

Pete Borkowski