Wednesday brought mixed results and plenty of emotion for Canadian stars in both Toronto and Montreal at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
On the men’s side, Gabriel Diallo regained control of his matinee matchup to defeat Italy’s Matteo Gigante to bring the home crowd to its feet in a dramatic straight-sets win, but fellow Canadian men Alexis Galarneau (unseeded) and Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada’s top-seeded men’s player) couldn’t follow suit, losing their respective matches in the Round of 64.
In Montreal, we witnessed an emotional farewell as Eugenie Bouchard officially retired from pro tennis after her loss to Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic at Centre Court.
Now, as the field of play narrows with the tournament entering the Round of 32, just two Canadians remain. Diallo will rest up Thursday as he prepares for a Friday rematch against a familiar foe in Taylor Fritz, while all eyes will be on Canada’s Victoria Mboko as she kicks off the evening session in Montreal with a Centre Court match against Marie Bouzkovà.
Mboko, 18 and ranked 85th on the WTA tour, has made waves this season with her rapid rise up the pro tennis rankings and just this week in Montreal earned a statement victory over Sofia Kenin in her main-draw debut at the tournament. Her win in straight sets made Mboko the youngest Canadian to top a Grand Slam champion in women’s singles at the National Bank Open.
This marks the first meeting between Mboko and Bouzkovà, who is ranked 39th and riding some momentum of her own with a seven-match winning streak. Can Mboko pull off another top-50 victory?
Tournament’s top seeds hit Centre Court
Two days after just barely topping fellow American Danielle Collins in a flawed victory, Coco Gauff will surely be looking for a cleaner path to the win column as the No. 2-ranked player on the WTA circuit returns to action Thursday against Veronika Kudermetova (ranked No. 42 in the world).
Gauff, the top seed in the women’s bracket, struggled mightily with her serve on Tuesday and now faces a familiar opponent in Kudermetova. The two went head-to-head three times in 2023, with Gauff taking a 2-1 edge overall.
Meanwhile, in Toronto, the top men’s player also returns to action Thursday night as Alexander Zverev takes on 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi. There’s history on the line for the 28-year-old, who is one win away from his 500th tour-level match victory. One more, and he’ll become the first man born in 1990 or later to reach the milestone.
Past champs go head-to-head
When Daniil Medvedev and Alexei Popyrin face off Thursday evening, the crowd in Toronto will be treated to a battle between former National Bank Open champs. Medvedev won the title in Toronto in 2021, while Popyrin is the reigning champ after claiming the tournament win in Montreal last year. Medvedev has the edge when it comes to head-to-head record (he’s 4-1 against the Australian) but Popyrin has the momentum in this market. The 26th-ranked player is riding a seven-match winning streak in Canada, dating back to his tournament win last year in his main-draw debut at the event.
BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Women's: Daytime session, 12:30 p.m., Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+; Evening session, 7 p.m., Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet+.
Men's: Daytime session, 11 a.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+; Evening session, 7 p.m., Sportsnet, Sportsnet+.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Women's in Montreal (all times ET)
Centre Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[24] Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) vs. [15] Daria Kasatkina (Australia)
[1] Coco Gauff (U.S.) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (Russia)
Not before 7 p.m.
[Wild Card] Victoria Mboko (Canada) vs. Marie Bouzkova (Czechia)
[9] Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan) vs. Jaqueline Cristian (Romania)
Rogers Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Lin Zhu (China) vs. Suzan Lamens (Netherlands)
Not before 2 p.m.
[4] Mirra Andreeva (Russia) vs. [28] McCartney Kessler (U.S.)
Not before 6 p.m.
Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (Spain) vs. [Qualifier] Aoi Ito (Japan)
[30] Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) vs. [8] Emma Navarro (U.S.)
Court 5 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Maya Joint (Australia) / Caty McNally (U.S.) vs. Desirae Krawczyk (U.S.) / Giuliana Olmos (Mexico)
Not before 2 p.m.
Peyton Stearns (U.S.) / Marketa Vondrousova (Czechia) vs. Madison Keys (U.S.) / Jessica Pegula (U.S.)
Kamilla Rakhimova (Russia) / Galina Voskoboeva (Kazakhstan) vs. Ulrikke Eikeri (Norway) / Eri Hozumi (Japan)
After suitable rest
[4] Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) / Elise Mertens (Belguium) vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) / Laura Siegemund (Germany)
Court 9 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[6] Asia Muhammad (U.S.) / Demi Schuurs (Netherlands) vs. Shuko Aoyama (Japan) / Cristina Bucsa (Spain)
Barbora Krejcikova (Czechia) / Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) vs. Tereza Mihalikova (Slovakia) / Olivia Nicholls (Great Britain)
Katarzyna Piter (Poland) / Sabrina Santamaria (U.S.) vs. Hanyu Guo (China) / Alexandra Panova (Russia)
Nicole Melichar-Martinez (U.S.) / Liudmila Samsonova (Russia) vs. [7] Lyudmyla Kichenok (Ukraine) / Ellen Perez (Australia)
Men's in Toronto (all times ET)
Centre Court (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[3] Lorenzo Musetti (Italy) vs. [26] Alex Michelsen (U.S.)
[30] Nuno Borges (Portugal) vs. [8] Casper Ruud (Norway)
Not before 7 p.m.
[1] Alexander Zverev (Germany) vs. [32] Matteo Arnaldi (Italy)
[10] Daniil Medvedev (Russia) vs. [18] Alexei Popyrin (Australia)
Motorola razr Grandstand Court (starts at 11 a.m.)
[11] Karen Khachanov (Russia) vs. [Qualifier] Emilio Nava (U.S.)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Argentina) vs. [14] Francisco Cerundolo (Argentina)
Not before 3 p.m.
Nathaniel Lammons (U.S.) / Jackson Withrow (U.S.) vs. Arthur Fils (France) / Ben Shelton (U.S.)
Not before 5 p.m.
Learner Tien (U.S.) vs. Reilly Opelka (U.S.)
[29] Alexandre Muller (France) vs. [5] Holger Rune (Denmark)
Court 1 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
[1] Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) / Mate Pavic (Croatia) vs. Jiri Lehecka (Czechia) / Jakub Mensik (Czechia)
Not before 2 p.m.
Robert Galloway (U.S.) / Brandon Nakashima (U.S.) vs. alternate team
After suitable rest
Alex Michelsen (U.S.) / Frances Tiafoe (U.S.) vs. [Wild card] Gabriel Diallo (Canada) / Alexis Galarneau (Canada)
Not before 5 p.m.
[7] Christian Harrison (U.S.) / Evan King (U.S.) vs. [WC] Liam Draxl (Canada) / Cleeve Harper (Canada)
Court 4 (starts at 12:30 p.m.)
Nikola Mektic (Croatia) / Rajeev Ram (U.S.) vs. Sadio Doumbia (France) / Fabien Reboul (France)
Flavio Cobolli (Italy) / Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (Spain) vs. [2] Julian Cash (Great Britain) / Lloyd Glasspool (Great Britain)
Austin Krajicek (U.S.) / Horacio Zeballos (Argentina) vs. Alex de Minaur (Australia) / Matthew Ebden (Australia)
Not before 5 p.m.
Yuki Bhambri (India) / Michael Venus (New Zealand) vs. John Peers (Australia) / Jan Zielinski (Poland)
