Crew Canada offered by Safeway’s return house was properly definitely worth the wait.
After years of not attending to play on house soil in staff competitors, the Canadian girls took full benefit of their house courtroom in Vancouver this weekend, placing on a present as they booked their ticket to the Billie Kean King Cup Finals with a blowout victory.
Canada’s efficiency was among the many finest from a busy weekend. Right here’s what you want to know:
In Case You Missed It: Glad Homecoming in BJK Cup
It had been almost 4 years since Canada final performed a house tie within the Billie Jean King Cup, so way back that the competitors was nonetheless referred to as the Fed Cup. On that weekend in April 2018, the Canadians narrowly scraped out a 3-2 win over Ukraine.
Upon their return final weekend, there was no such drama and the outcomes have been definitely worth the watch for Canadian followers. Led by a stellar efficiency from Leylah Annie Fernandez, the Canadians booked their spot in November’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals with a 4-0 win over Latvia.
Fernandez, who was making her debut on house soil in Billie Jean King Cup competitors having beforehand performed in three away ties, was completely dominant, dropping six complete video games in two singles matches that mixed to be shorter than Rebecca Marino’s three-set singles win. The Canadian No. 1 additionally broke serve 10 instances in her opponents’ mixed 12 service video games.
Within the opening match, Fernandez wanted lower than an hour to dismantle Darja Sementistaja 6-1, 6-2 to get the hosts off to a dream begin. The Canadian broke her opponent in each single one in all her service video games within the match.
Subsequent up was Marino, competing in entrance of her house crowd in Vancouver. That house courtroom benefit could have been the distinction for the Canadian veteran, who gritted out a decent three-set win over Daniela Vismane to place the house staff in management 2-0 after day one.
On Saturday, it took Fernandez simply over an hour to shut out the tie, beating Vismane 2 and 1 to clinch a 3-0 benefit for Canada. Gabriela Dabrowski and Carol Zhao then put a bow on the weekend with a doubles win to finish the sweep.
Canada advances to the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November for the second 12 months in a row. The positioning is but to be decided.
Elsewhere within the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, if there was one participant higher this weekend than Fernandez, it was the world No. 1 Iga Świątek, who led Poland to a win over Romania. The world’s finest girls’s participant stretched her successful streak to 19 matches and solely misplaced one sport in her two singles matches.
In a weird twist, US Open champion Emma Raducanu made her top-level debut on clay this weekend representing the UK in opposition to the Czech Republic. Raducanu gained her opening match, however misplaced her second because the Brits have been defeated 3-2.
The USA thwarted a Ukrainian comeback with a deciding-rubber doubles win after the Ukrainians, who went into Saturday down 0-2, gained each reverse singles to make the doubles significant. That tie featured an epic tiebreak within the opening match, gained by Alison Riske 18-16 within the first set of the opening singles match.
Italy, Spain and Kazakhstan have been among the many different playoff victors from the weekend. Belgium additionally gained by default attributable to Belarus being banned from the competitors.
Tsitsipas doubles up in Monte Carlo
The Billie Jean King Cup overshadowed the primary clay-court Masters 1000 occasion of 2022, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, which is an occasion that’s used to repeat champions and noticed one other one this 12 months.
Stefanos Tsitsipas went back-to-back on the Mediterranean coast, beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight units within the remaining. Each of the Greek’s Masters 1000 titles have been in Monte Carlo.
Within the Open Period, 5 males have gained consecutive titles in Monte Carlo. All of them gained the French Open in some unspecified time in the future of their careers.
Regardless of Tsitsipas in the end claiming the title, Davidovich Fokina was the large story of the week, as he upset Novak Djokovic in three units within the second spherical after which Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz within the quarter-finals on his technique to what was not simply his first Masters 1000 remaining, however his first remaining on the ATP Tour.
Félix Auger-Aliassime was the lone Canadian competing in Monte Carlo and his chilly streak continued, because the Canadian No. 1 fell to 0-3 on the Masters 1000 degree in 2022, dropping his opening match to Lorenzo Musetti.
What to Watch: Bianca is Again
All eyes can be on the WTA 500 occasion in Stuttgart this week, the place 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu makes her long-awaited return to the tour after a seven-month absence. She obtained a wildcard to compete.
Andreescu has not performed a match on tour since Indian Wells final October. She’s going to open her marketing campaign in Stuttgart in opposition to Jule Niemeier and would meet third seed Aryna Sabalenka within the second spherical. Anett Kontaveit, the final participant Andreescu performed in a aggressive match, looms within the quarter-finals.
The attract Stuttgart is loaded and consists of 4 of the world’s Prime 5 gamers, together with the world No. 1 Świątek. It additionally options Paula Badosa, Maria Sakkari, Karolina Pliskova, Ons Jabeur and Raducanu as seeds.
Auger-Aliassime will look to show issues round this week in Barcelona, the place he’s the third seed. After a bye, he’ll meet both Sebastien Korda or qualifier Carlos Teberner. Subsequent up could possibly be 13th seed Frances Tiafoe.
He’s in the identical quarter as sixth seed Diego Schwartzman, who would have been his spherical three opponent in Monte Carlo, and the identical half as second seed Casper Ruud.
Tsitsipas within the prime seed and is in line for a mouth-watering quarter-final conflict with Carlos Alcaraz.
Over in Belgrade, Djokovic will look to get his 2022 report again over .500 on house soil the place he’s the highest seed. That occasion additionally options the return of Dominic Thiem, who has not competed on the ATP Tour since June of final 12 months attributable to a mix of accidents and COVID.
The ultimate occasion of the week is a WTA 250 occasion in Istanbul the place Elise Mertens is the highest seed.
Below the Radar:
Final week on the ITF circuit, 17-year-old Canadian Marina Stakusic reached the semi-finals of the W15 occasion in Cario, Egypt the place she misplaced in three units.
On the W25 occasion in Nottingham, Katherine Sebov reached the quarter-finals, the place she misplaced a slim three-setter to second seed Jana Fett.
This week on the ATP Challenger Tour, Steven Diez is competing on the San Marcos Open in Mexico
You possibly can comply with the Canadians in motion each week here.
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