Galarneau, Sigouin and Draxl receive Wild Cards into the main draw
Drummondville, January 29, 2020 – The list of players
for the sixth edition of the Drummondville National Bank Challenger was
unveiled on Wednesday. The tournament, which offers $54,160 in total
prize money, will be played from February 17-23
at the René-Verrier indoor tennis club in Drummondville.
At the head of the Canadian contingent in Drummondville will be
24-year-old Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON), who will be the tournament’s
second seed. Still in search of his first Challenger Tour title, the
young Canadian had some breakout performances in 2019,
notably reaching the final at the ATP 250 event in New York after
having to qualify to reach the main draw. This deep run allowed him to
rise up the rankings where he hovered just outside of the Top 100 for
most of the year. He will be taking part in the Drummondville
Challenger for only the third time in his career, with his best
performance coming in 2018 when he reached the semi-finals.
Joining Schnur in the main draw will be Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC),
Benjamin Sigouin (Vancouver, BC) and Liam Draxl (Newmarket, ON) as they
have been awarded Wild Cards. Galarneau made a name for himself on the
summer circuit of Canadian tournaments in 2019
when he ousted the top seed in Gatineau and reached the third round.
Both Sigouin ad Galarneau currently play collegiate tennis in the NCAA.
Fans might also recognize 18-year-old Liam Draxl, who took part in one
of the most thrilling matches at the tournament
last year when he went the distance against John-Patrick Smith in a
tight three-set match in the second round. Despite the loss, he garnered
attention for his performance. The other Wild Card recipients will be
announced at a later date.
“There is an exciting mix of experienced veterans and emerging talent
taking part in this year’s tournament, particularly among the young
Canadian players who are set to compete. They will be able to gain
valuable experience and important ranking points during
their time here,” stated Tournament Director Richard Quirion. “We are
looking forward to watching this year’s group of players battle for a
chance to be crowned champion. It will undoubtably be an entertaining
week of tennis!”
Nine players ranking inside the Top 200 are expected to compete at the
tournament, including the top seed Dominik Koepfer of Germany. The
25-year-old reached a career-high ranking of no. 83 at the end of 2019
notably thanks to his run to the fourth round at
the US Open as a qualifier. Back in 2018, he won the title at the
Sherbrooke Futures. Koepfer is not the only player who has had success
playing on the Canadian circuit of tournaments, as Americans Denis Kudla
and Bradley Klahn also won titles on Canadian
soil in 2018, at the Drummondville and Gatineau Challengers,
respectively. They are slated to be among the top seeds in Drummondville
this year.
Click
here to consult the complete Player List.
The Drummondville National Bank Challenger is part of the group of
tournaments sponsored by National Bank, a group that includes a combined
event in Granby as well as two men’s Challengers in Calgary and
Winnipeg and a women’s Challenger in Saguenay.
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Information:
Victoria Jaklin, Tennis Canada
vjaklin@tenniscanada.com or 514-929-6805