Japanese players swept the titles at the W50 Saskatoon Challenger. Himeo Sakatsume won in singles while No. 2 seeds Saki Imamura and Hirko Kuwata denied Canadian Alexandra Vagramov of her second-straight ITF doubles title.
This time, the Granby champion teamed with fellow Canuck Raphaelle Lacasse, entering the tournament as the No. 4 seeds.
Vagramov and Lacasse cruised through their opening match, defeating 16-year-old Canadian Selin Vakalapudi and Italia Giulia Alessia Monteleone 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-final. The all-Canadian duo was then set to face Lavalloise Bianca Jolie Fernandez and American Zoe Hitt in the semifinal, but the No. 4 seeds were granted the win via walkover.
The Canadians’ opponents in the final were Imamura and Kuwata, who defeated two all-Canadian teams in straight sets en route to the title match – Mia Kupres and Annabelle Xu in the quarter-final then Teah Chavez and Scarlett Nicholson in the semifinal.
In the final, Vagramov and Lacasse dropped the opener in a tiebreak but responded with two breaks in the second set to send the match to a decisive super-tiebreak. However, the Canucks managed just a single point as the No. 2 seeds secured their first ITF title as a team, winning 7-6(3), 3-6, 10-1.
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Japan capped off their success in the Saskatchewan’s largest city with Sakatsume hoisting the singles trophy.
The No. 6 seed dropped just one set throughout the tournament, which occurred in the quarter-final against American Haley Giavara. Sakatsume faced No. 2 seed Anca Todoni of Romanian in the final and lost just one point in the opening-set tiebreak before wrapping up the match after two, winning 7-6(1), 6-3.
Lacasse and Katherine Sebov were the only Canadians to reach the quarter-final, both losing in three sets.
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The next Canadian professional ITF event is the W35 Quebec City Tournament in October.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
