Liam Draxl has come so close to hoisting silverware at the ATP Drummondville National Bank Challenger. The Newmarket-native reached the doubles final the past two years, falling short of the title on each occasion. On Tuesday, his chance to avenge those losses begins.
Draxl kicks off his time in Drummondville in singles as the event’s top seed. The Canadian No. 4 faces countryman Mikael Arseneault in his opening match, with the winner potentially meeting fellow Canuck Justin Boulais in the second round.
In the same half, Cleeve Harper opens against No. 7 seed Michael Mmoh. While Dan Martin and Keegan Rice already set up an all-Canadian round-two clash after wins on Monday.
After Nicolas Arseneault’s opening-round loss, Juan Carlos Aguilar and Duncan Chan are the only Canadians alive in the bottom half. The two could only meet as far as the semis.
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Chan is fresh off a doubles final run in Montreal the previous week but is not in the draw in Drummondville.
Harper comes in as the highest-seeded Canadian in doubles, entering as the fourth seed alongside Connor Thomson of Great Britain. With an opening-match win, the Calgarian has the potential to see Draxl and Nicaise Muamba in the next round. Harper and Draxl were teammates at this year’s NBO and Davis Cup, plus the duo reached the Drummondville final last year.
To round out the Canadians, Martin and Joshua Peck open against Benjamin Thomas George and American Alafia Ayeni. Boulais and Aguilar play German third seeds Tim Ruehl and Patrick Zahraj in the first round.
Feature Photo: Peter Power
