Duncan Chan nearly secured the host nation’s first singles title of this fall’s Canadian professional events, but the Markhamite was unable cap off his remarkable run at the ATP Drummondville National Bank Challenger with a trophy.
The 20-year-old reached his maiden Challenger semifinal without dropping a set, defeating No. 8 seed Gabi Adrian Boitan of Romania in the quarter-final. Chan was one of three Canadians in the last eight, however, top-seed Liam Draxl was ousted by M25 Montreal champion Maks Kasnikowski, while Dan Martin lost to fourth seed Daniil Glinka in three sets.
Chan kept the milestones coming in the semis as he rallied from a set down to beat Charles Broom of Great Britain and book his ticket to his first-career Challenger final.
The Canadian needed to spark another comeback after dropping the opener to Glinka in the championship match. Unfortunately for Chan, he was broken in back-to-back service games to begin the second set and couldn’t claw back. The Estonian took the match 6-4, 6-2 to capture his maiden Challenger title.
Read also: Team Effort Sees Canada Through Billie Jean King Cup Qualifiers
In doubles, things went according to plan for No. 1 seeds Trey Hilderbrand and Mac Kiger of the USA. The Americans defeated countryman Alafia Ayeni and Canadian Benjamin Thomas George in straight sets to reach the semifinals, where the duo took down No. 3 seeds Tim Ruehl and Patrick Zahraj in the same fashion.
Alan Magadan and Karl Poling met Hilderbrand and Kiger in the final. The Mexican-American team had stunned second seeds Ben Jones and David Poljak en route to the title match but couldn’t score another upset win against the top seeds.
Read also: Auger-Aliassime's Season Ends with ATP Finals Semifinal Loss to Alcaraz
The Americans remained perfect with a 6-3, 6-4 victory, hoisting their second Challenger title as a team this year.
Feature Photo: Ghyslain Bergeron
