There was plenty of Canadian content in the first week of the 1000-level Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, but one Canuck shone above the rest.
It has been a while since Bianca Andreescu had a deep run at a big tournament, but the former US Open champion has been showing what she is capable of when she plays her best tennis this month on the Roman dirt.
Here's what you need to know.
In Case You Missed It: Canadian Women the Stars
It was a busy week in Rome for the Canadians, with five in the singles main draw. However, only one made it to Monday.
Bianca Andreescu has looked more like her old self this week in the Italian capital and has caused quite a stir, reaching the fourth round at a big event (WTA 1000 or Grand Slam) for the first time in over two years.
She did it the hard way too, upsetting two seeded opponents back-to-back. After cruising past Federica Urgesi in the first round, Andreescu scored a gritty victory over No. 20 Donna Vekic in the second round. Then on Sunday, she avenged her loss two weeks ago in Madrid to Elena Rybakina, upsetting the 11th-seeded Kazakhstani in straight sets to reach the last sixteen.
Leylah Annie Fernandez was the only other Canadian to reach the third round in singles. She defeated Antonia Ruzic in the second round after a bye before falling to Marta Kostyuk.
Victoria Mboko made her WTA Tour debut on clay in Rome, coming through qualifying to enter her second WTA 1000 main draw. She then won her first tour-level match on the surface against Arianna Zucchini before losing a hard-fought second-rounder against world No. 3 Coco Gauff in three sets.
It was a tough week for the Canadian men as the three who made the trip to the eternal city were unable to pick up a match win. Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo both lost their opening matches, while Félix Auger-Aliassime withdrew with a back injury a couple of hours before playing his second-round match. He had and Shapovalov had first-round byes.
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Gabriela Dabrowski had an easy go in the opening week of the Italian Open. She and Erin Routliffe easily defeated Monica Niculescu and Katarszyna Piter in the first round before their second-round opponents withdrew, giving the top seeds a free pass to the quarter-finals.
Fernandez was also competing in doubles with Yulia Putintseva. They won their first-round match in straight sets before losing 10-7 in the match tiebreak to the third seeds Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round two.
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What to Watch: Andreescu Eyes Return to Quarters
*Note: This article was published prior to Andreescu's match on Monday and does not reflect Monday’s results at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia
Bianca Andreescu is the lone Canadian still in singles action in Rome this week. She faces world No. 8 Qinwen Zheng in the fourth round on Monday.
If Andreescu wins, she would be into her first quarter-final at a WTA 1000 event since this very same tournament in 2022. Just like that year, she could face the world No. 1 in the last eight. This time, it would be Aryna Sabalenka.
Potential semifinal opponents include Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva.
Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are through to the doubles quarter-finals and will face either sixth seeds Andreeva and Diana Shnaider or Hao Ching Chan and Giuliana Olmos. Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini are their projected semifinal opponents. The three highest-seeded teams left are all in the top half of the draw.
Under the Radar: Martin Makes His Mark
Dan Martin was the lone Canadian champion on the pro circuits last week, scoring the second ITF singles title of his career at the M15 event in Villahermosa, Mexico. He was the fourth seed and won back-to-back three-setters in the semis and final, capping it off with a win over the second-seeded local favourite Alex Hernandez 5-7, 6-2, 6-3.
The title run also included a second-round victory over Martin’s countryman and doubles partner Mikael Arseneault 6-2, 6-2.
Arseneault and Martin reached the doubles final together in Villahermosa but lost to the Japanese pair of Kazuma Kawachi and Masakatsu Noguchi in straight sets.
On the ITF junior circuit last week, Canada hosted a J60 event in Ile des Soeurs, QC, and the host nation cleaned up, with Canadians winning in all four draws.
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This week, the second batch of ITF Masters World Championships gets underway in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The 60, 65, and 70 team cups are taking place this week followed by the individual championships next week. Canada has men’s and women’s teams in each age group.
It is also a busy week on Canadian soil, with an ITF junior event in Halifax and a Masters event in Montreal.
You can follow the Canadians in action every week here.
Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak
