This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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Two Canadians are still alive in the $50,000 Tevlin Challenger in Toronto as Eugenie Bouchard and Gabriela Dabrowski advanced into the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Bouchard eliminated her doubles partner, American Amanda Fink, 6-2, 7-6(6). The final game in the second set and the tiebreaker were intense battles between the two opponents, as they continuously swapped points.
“I didn’t play as well in the second set as I did in the first – I backed off a bit and was less aggressive, so I let her back into the match,” Bouchard said. “It was definitely tough to stay mentally strong after having four or five match points at 6-5 so I just tried to fight every point and I tried to play a bit smarter in the tiebreak. In the end, that helped save a set point as well, so it was just really a gutsy tiebreak.”
She will challenge Amra Sadikovic in the next round after the Swiss player climbed back from a set and a break down to defeat Canadian Marie-Eve Pelletier 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2. Bouchard has played her before, taking a three-set match in the semifinals of the $10,000 Sibenik Challenger in Croatia in April.
“She’s a good player so it’s going to be a tough match, but I look forward to playing her. I know she hits the ball bigger than the girl I played today, and I think that’s good for me and I think we’ll have some good points tomorrow.”
Dabrowski beat lucky loser Celine Cattaneo of France 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals, her best result on the year. She also reached the final eight of a $10K event in Landisville, Pennsylvania in May. Both Dabrowksi and Cattaneo broke each other several times, but the Canadian hit big serves and was aggressive in clinching both sets.
“I think I played quite well on the most important points –game points, break points; I saved the break points and I made most of my game points,” Dabrowski said. “I would say that I kept my composure throughout the whole match, even though I didn’t feel like it wasn’t my best day. My timing was a little bit off, but I just tried to work through it and do what I can. She’s different to play, because she had a one-handed backhand and it was difficult to read once in a while where she’s going.”
She will next take on Slovenian Andreja Klepac, who took out Elena Bovina of Russia 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.
The other Canadian in action, Carol Zhao, fell to No. 2 seed Mandy Minella of Luxembourg 6-2, 6-1.
In the other two quarter-finals, it will be No. 8 Petra Rampre of Slovenia versus American Alexandra Mueller, and No. 6 Timea Babos of Hungary against Minella.
Dabrowski and Pelletier teamed up later for the doubles semifinals and booted No. 1 seeds Sharon Fichman and Sheng-Nan Sun out of the tournament 6-3, 7-6(6). The championship match will be a repeat of last week’s $50,000 Saguenay Challenger final, as the Canadians will take on Babos and Jessica Pegula tomorrow. In Saguenay, it was the Hungarian and American pair that lifted the trophy.
Quarter-final play begins at 10 a.m. Friday at the Rexall Centre’s Centre of Excellence. Admission is free.
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