The main draws of two biggest professional tennis tournaments held in Canada got underway on Monday in Montreal and Toronto.
Six Canadian men are in the draw in Montreal. They include Milos Raonic, currently ranked a career-high number-13 in the world. Four Canadian women are in the draw in Toronto. They include former Wimbledon junior champion Eugenie Bouchard, who is currently ranked a career-high 58.
The top stars are participating in both tournaments. World number-1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray of Scotland and Rafael Nadal of Spain, the French Open champion are all in Montreal. World number-1 Serena Williams of the United States is in Toronto.
Missing are Roger Federer of Switzerland, now the world’s number-5, and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, the third-ranked women’s player. Both pulled out because of back injuries.
The tournaments are lead-ups to the US Open, which begins at the end of the month. For many of the players, Montreal and Toronto will be their first outings on hard courts, the surface used in New York.
Besides Roanic, the Canadians in the men’s draw are Vasek Posposil, ranked 71st in the world, Jesse Levine (124) Frank Dancevic (165) Peter Polansky (254) and last year’s junior Wimbledon champion, Filip Peliwo (353).
Besides Bouchard, Canadians competing in Toronto are Sharon Fichman (104), Stephanie Dubois (155) and Carol Zhao (199).
Daniel Nestor, who has 80 career titles in doubles, an Olympic Gold Medal in doubles, and 14 Grand Slam titles in men’s and mixed doubles, including this year’s Wimbledon, will be in Montreal with his latest partner, Swede Robert Lindstedt.
For a preview of the tournaments and how the Canadians might do, Terry Haig spoke with the Montreal Gazette’s Stephanie Myles.
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