Sports | Strong start for Canadians on the grass
Canadian tennis players Denis Shapovalov, Milos Raonic, Bianca Andreescu, and Rebecca Marino kicked off their grass season on a high note on Tuesday.
Shapovalov, ranked 117th in the world, started his journey at the Stuttgart Open by defeating French player Matteo Martineau 7-6 (5), 7-5. It was the first career meeting between the two players. He will face Italian Matteo Berrettini in the next round, who surprised Russian Roman Saffiulin, the eighth seed, in three sets earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, Raonic, ranked 197th in the world, upset Australian Jordan Thompson 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the ‘s-Hertogenbosch Open in the Netherlands. The 33-year-old Ontarian improved his career record against Thompson to 2-1 and got his revenge for being eliminated by Thompson in the tournament’s round of 16 in 2023. Raonic will next play the winner of the match between Spanish player Roberto Bautista Agut and Swiss qualifier Marc-Andrea Hüsler.
In another match, Montreal’s Gabriel Diallo (165th) fell to Italian Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the first round of the Nottingham II Open.
On the women’s side, Andreescu defeated Dutch player Eva Vedder 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round. It was their first career meeting, with Andreescu, ranked 228th in the world, taking the win. The 2019 US Open champion will face Chinese player Yue Yuan, the sixth seed, in the second round.
Marino also advanced to the second round of the Nottingham Open by beating Swiss player Viktorija Golubic 6-1, 6-4. The British Columbian, ranked 157th in the world, will next play the third seed, British player Katie Boulter.
In the women’s doubles event, Ontario’s Gabriela Dabrowski and her partner Erin Routliffe will play against British players Alicia Barnett and Freya Christie in their first-round match on Wednesday morning at the Nottingham Open.