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If requested, most Canadian tennis followers would most likely say that clay is the trickiest floor for gamers from this nation. There usually are not plenty of clay courts, or a minimum of not plenty of RED clay courts, right here and our gamers usually would not have their greatest tour outcomes on the floor.
Although there may be additionally a scarcity of grass courts in Canada, gamers on tour have usually achieved fairly nicely at Wimbledon.
These clay struggles for the Canadians have been on show to this point in 2023 and the primary week of the Italian Open was no exception. Right here’s what you have to know.
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If the Canadians have been hoping to make use of Rome as a springboard into Roland-Garros, they didn’t get their want. All three Canadians within the singles draw misplaced their opening matches within the first week of the Italian Open.
Felix Auger-Aliassime misplaced yet another three-set heartbreaker, this time at the hands of Alexei Popyrin. Leylah Annie Fernandez needed to watch a third-set lead slip away in a loss to Aliaksandra Sasnovich, whereas Bianca Andreescu continues to work her method again from harm and fell to Marketa Vondrousova.
Because of this, the three highest-ranked Canadian singles gamers will all go into the French Open with out a victory on pink clay in 2023.
No less than in Madrid, doubles provided some comfort however that was not the case in Rome. Solely Gabriela Dabrowski was competing in doubles and he or she went down within the first spherical as nicely by the hands of Marie Bouzkova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
It was not simply the Canadians who struggled on the Italian Open.
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Solely three of the High 10 seeds on the ladies’s facet superior to the fourth spherical, together with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek who dropped simply two video games in her first 4 units performed. She is joined by No. 7 Elena Rybakina and No. 8 Daria Kasatkina.
The remainder of the High 10 went down early, together with second seed and Madrid champion Aryna Sabalenka, who was surprised by former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
On the boys’s facet, week one went slightly extra as anticipated though it was not with out big-name casualties, the largest being No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz who was shocked within the third spherical by Fabian Marozsan.
Alcaraz was one in all three High 10 gamers to lose in week one together with Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz.
What to Watch: One other “New Huge Three” Conflict?
Regardless of the thinning of the sector on the WTA facet in Rome, one potential quarter-final conflict has all of the makings of a significant blockbuster as Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, two members of the group many are attempting to dub the WTA’s “Huge Three” (together with Aryna Sabalenka), are on a quarter-final collision course.
Rybakina has already booked her spot. Swiatek can affirm the conflict if she defeats Donna Vekic within the fourth spherical. This is able to be their third match already in 2023, with each earlier conferences going the way in which of the Kazakhstani in straight units. Nevertheless, this might be their first-ever assembly on clay, the Pole’s most popular floor.
Swiatek and Rybakina are the 2 highest-ranked gamers left within the Rome draw. Nevertheless, seven of the eight quarter-final spots will belong to seeded gamers. The winner between Paula Badosa and Karolina Muchova would be the lone unseeded quarter-finalist.
For the boys, seven of the highest eight, together with world No. 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic, are nonetheless within the draw. The lads’s occasion is simply on the spherical of sixteen.
Below the Radar:
Gabriel Diallo’s constant outcomes on the ATP Challenger Tour took one other step ahead final week because the Davis Cup champion reached the semifinals of a Challenger occasion in Busan, South Korea.
He didn’t drop a set in his first three matches, together with an upset of the third seed Jordan Thompson, earlier than falling to the highest seed Max Purcell within the last 4.
Carol Zhao additionally had a semifinal exhibiting final week, reaching the ultimate 4 at an ITF W60 occasion in Fukuoka, Japan. She was crushed by the eventual champion Natsumi Kawaguchi.
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There was a Canadian winner on the ITF circuit final week as Louise Kwong gained the doubles title on the W15 in Monastir, Tunisia. It’s her second ITF doubles title of the yr and fourth in her profession.
Stacey Fung additionally had a have a look at an ITF doubles title final week, reaching the ultimate in Kachreti, Georgia, however the match was not performed.
This week is a busy one for big-name Canadians on the decrease circuits. Trying to get some wins beneath her belt, Leylah Annie Fernandez can be competing at an ITF W100 this week in Madrid.
Eugenie Bouchard is taking part in on the WTA 125 occasion in Florence, Italy, whereas Katherine Sebov and Carol Zhao are within the draw at one other WTA 125 in Paris.
You’ll be able to comply with the Canadians in motion each week here.
The publish Monday Digest: A Less-Than-Ideal Roman Holiday appeared first on Tennis Canada.
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