Monday Digest: Dabrowski’s New York Fairytale, Davis Cup Defence Begins

Gabriella Dabrowski has been among the world’s best doubles players for years, but the biggest crowns on tour eluded her.

Not anymore.

The Canadian star broke through for her first women’s doubles major title last week, ending the Slam season on a high note for her country.

And now it’s the men’s turn to try and grab a big win of their own.

Here’s what you need to know.

In Case You Missed It: Dabrowski’s Doubles Steals the Show

2023 may not have gone the way most Canadians hoped, but it ended in the best way possible with Gabriela Dabrowski becoming the first Canadian to ever win a women’s doubles Grand Slam title.

She and partner Erin Routliffe, who was raised in Canada but represents New Zealand, defeated Laura Siegemund and Vera Zvonareva on Sunday in straight sets to claim the title. It was just Dabrowski and Routliffe’s fourth tournament as a pair.

It is the third major of Dabrowski’s career. She won two previous mixed doubles titles.

On her way to the title, Dabrowski won an epic quarter-final against countrywoman and Billie Jean King Cup teammate Leylah Annie Fernandez and her American partner Taylor Townsend.

Dabrowski’s victory was the first at a major for a Canadian in 2023 after four finals at the first three majors saw Canadians defeated.

Another dream came true in the women’s singles as Coco Gauff won her first major title, beating Aryna Sabalenka on home soil to claim the title.

Read the full tournament recap on the National Bank Open website.

While Gauff was winning her first Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic tied the record for the most major singles titles by defeating Daniil Medvedev, who ended Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence in the semifinals, to win his 24^th. He ties Margaret Court for the most all-time, although all of his came in the Open Era.

Read the full tournament recap on the National Bank Open website.

What to Watch: Canada Returns to Davis Cup

Team Canada presented by Sobeys’ journey to second straight Davis Cup title gets underway this week in Bologna, Italy.

This week is the group stage of the 2023 Davis Cup Finals and the defending champions are in Group A with Sweden, Chile, and the host Italians.

It is Canada’s first tie since winning the trophy last November in Malaga, Spain. As a 2022 finalist, they were given a bye and skipped the qualifying round.

Four of the five members of the 2022 championship squad are back looking to book Canada’s spot in the knockout stage, which will once again take place in Malaga in November. Denis Shapovalov, Vasek Pospisil, Gabriel Diallo, and Alexis Galarneau are all returning for the 2023 round robin.

They are joined by Kelsey Stevenson, who was selected for Team Canada for the first time.

There are four groups of four teams in four cities. The top two teams in each group will advance to November’s quarter-finals.

On the WTA Tour, Leylah Annie Fernandez is back in action at the WTA 500 event in San Diego after going out early at the US Open, but the draw gods have been unkind to her once again as she will face seventh-seed Beatriz Haddad Maia in the first round.

Fernandez beat the Brazilian in a thriller last month in Montreal. Should she do it again, she would meet either Magda Linette or Marta Kostyuk in round two. She is in the same quarter as No. 4 seed Barbora Krejcikova and is in the bottom half with No. 2 Caroline Garcia. Ons Jabeur is the top seed.

Other notable names in the San Diego draw include Maria Sakkari, Jelena Ostapenko and Belinda Bencic to name a few.

Rebecca Marino is getting her Asian swing underway at the WTA 250 event in Osaka, Japan. She also meets the No. 7 seed, Nao Hibino, in the first round. She would meet either Elizabeth Mandlik or Diane Parry in round two and could face off with top seed Lin Zhu for the fifth time in 2023 in the quarter-finals.

Under the Radar:

Canada’s best result on the ITF circuit last week came in Sapporo, Japan, where Chih Chi Huang and his Japanese partner Yuta Kikuchi reached the doubles final of the M25 event.

They scored back-to-back comeback wins in epic match tiebreaks, 12-10 in round one and 15-13 in round two, but eventually fell in straight sets in the final. Huang was one of five non-Japanese players in the draw.

You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.