Alexandra Vagramov was a singles-win away from securing a pair of titles at the W15 Victoriaville, while Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands won his maiden ITF singles trophy at the M15 Montreal.
Vagramov had to work her way past a couple of American teenagers in her opening two matches. The New Westminster-native needed three sets to defeat Rachael Smith in round one, followed by a more comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over qualifier Sara Shumate in the last 16.
The 24-year-old set up an all-Canadian clash against Ariana Arseneault in the quarters; however, the top seed was forced to retire early in the second set.
Vagramov then cruised by yet another American teen, beating 18-year-old qualifier Kaya Moe 6-1, 6-2 to secure her spot in the final. The Canadian battled a familiar face for the title – her Victoriaville doubles partner Esther Adeshina of Great Britain.
The two were even through the first two sets but the Brit took over in the decider, capturing the title thanks to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
However, Vagramov did not leave empty-handed. She and Adeshina dropped just one set en route to hoisting the doubles trophy in Victoriaville.
The top seeds’ toughest test came against Canadian juniors Clémence Mercier and Andrea Cabio in the semis, having to come back from a set down to reach the final. In the title match, Vagramov and Adeshina defeated Jaeden Brown of the USA and Sofia Johnson of Great Britain 6-3, 6-3.
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All four of Vagramov’s doubles titles have come in Quebec, including a win last week in Trois-Rivières with American Dasha Ivanova.
M15 Montreal
For back-to-back weeks, a Dutch was crowned men’s singles champion in Canada. Mees Rottgering was dominant in the M15 Montreal draw, remaining perfect up until the final where he won from a set down.
The 18-year-old opened the event with a double bagel, then took down Canadian Volodymyr Gurenko and No. 6 seed Strong Kirchheimer of the USA both in straight sets. Rottgering advanced to the final after Kacper Szymkowiak retired in the semis.
Sherbrooke champion Daniel de Jonge reached the final four as well, but the Dutch also retired, sending third-seed Andrew Fenty of the USA through to the final.
For the title, Rottgering conceded the opener in a tiebreaker, the first set he dropped in the tournament, but the fourth seed quickly turned things around and secured his place in the winner’s circle with a 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-4 win.
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Top-seeds Reece Falck of New Zealand and Billy Suarez of the USA were the Montreal doubles champions. The Kiwi-American duo’s only three setters came against all-Canadian teams – Adam Farag-Cao and Joshua Peck in round one then Benjamin Thomas George and Jared Horwood in the semis – but Falck and Suarez found their way past the Canucks before winning the title match in straight sets.
Feature Photo: Sarah-Jade Champagne
