Tennis Canada – All-Canadian blockbuster set for Wednesday between Abanda and Andreescu
 
Toronto, November 1, 2016 –Francoise Abanda (Montreal) and Katherine Sebov (Kleinburg, Ont.) recorded straight set victories to advance at the $50,000 Tevlin Women’s Challenger on Tuesday. The two Canadians will join compatriot Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, Ont.) in the second round of the week-long event at Toronto’s Aviva Centre.

No. 3 seed Abanda captured her spot in the next round with a 7-6(7), 6-3 win over Emina Bektas. The American qualifier matched Abanda’s ace count of six, and gave the top-seeded Canadian some trouble early on in the match.

“I heard [Bektas] has a big serve before coming into today but during the match, it was really tough for me to return them,” said Abanda, who will next play Andreescu in the second round. “That’s why I went all the way to the tie-breaker because I just couldn’t break her. I found my way in the second though. I just focused on trying to break her, which I did once or twice. For my next match, I’m playing Bianca. I played against her this summer in Granby. I wanted a difficult match so it will be a tough one.”

Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov also advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 defeat over wild card Carson Branstine of the United States. Sebov, who played her third and final qualifying match a day earlier to secure her spot in the main draw, next faces No. 1 seed Catherine Bellis in the second round. Bellis beat Usue Maitane Arconada 6-4, 6-2 in an all-American first round match.

Canadians Carol Zhao (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Charlotte Robillard-Millette (Blainville, Que.) were both eliminated from competition in their opening-round campaigns. Qualifier Ronit Yurovsky of the United States beat the former Stanford University standout 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 in an hour and 46 minutes, while Robillard-Millette fell to Fanny Stollar of Hungary 6-2, 6-4.

Also in action, No. 2 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium defeated American Caitlin Whoriskey 6-0, 6-4 in her first round match. Jesika Maleckova of Czech Republic advanced after Great Britain’s Katie Swan was forced to retire. The No. 4 seed dropped the first set 6-4 but was leading 5-2 before the match was called. Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic upset No. 8 seed Michaella Krajicek 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) and advances to the next round of play in Toronto.

Second round action begins on Wednesday at the Centre of Excellence, the indoor tennis facility at Aviva Centre. The $50,000 Tevlin Women’s Challenger runs until Sunday November 6. The impressive list of past champions includes former world No. 5 and Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard (2012), three-time WTA titlist Heather Watson (2010), 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki (2007), former world No. 21 Aleksandra Wozniak (2005), and last year’s winner Tatjana Maria of Germany. Admission to the public is free for the entire week. Please click here to view the full draws and order of play.

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events, 10 professional ITF-sanctioned events and financially supports 12 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates national junior training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada, please visit our website at www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 
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