Tennis Canada – Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski will compete for fifth Tevlin doubles crown in Saturday’s final

Toronto, November 4, 2016 – Hometown favourite Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, Ont.) was unable to secure a spot in the semifinals of the $50,000 Tevlin Women’s Challenger, she fell to American Raveena Kingsley 6-1, 6-4 in Friday’s quarter-final match at the Aviva Centre in Toronto.

Kingsley excelled in her first tournament back following a wrist injury, which kept the 18-year old sidelined for three months. Kingsley allowed Andreescu just one break in the hour and twenty-nine minute contest.

The Baltimore native will face fellow American and No. 1 seed Catherine “CiCi” Bellis in her next match. Bellis defeated Tessah Andrianjafitrimo of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 to move on to the semifinals. For the second consecutive match, Bellis fought back from a first set deficit. The 17-year-old found her rhythm midway through the second to complete the comeback and set up Saturday’s meeting with Kingsley.

No. 4 seed Jesika Maleckova of Czech Republic was the first player to move into the semifinals earlier in the day. The 22-year-old defeated American Nicole Frenkel 6-1, 6-2 in Friday’s opening match. Maleckova will face Belgium’s Elise Mertens in the semifinal round.

Mertens advanced with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 defeat over American qualifier Ronit Yurovsky. The No. 2 seed required a medical time out in the first set, but rebounded to wrap up the quarter-final victory and advance to the field’s final four.

In doubles, the final has been set and the top-ranked duo of Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa) and Michaella Krajicek of Netherlands will contend for the title in the championship match on Saturday. The No. 1 seeds took down the all-Canadian team of Bianca Andreescu and Charlotte Robillard-Millette (Blainville, Que.) 6-3, 6-4. A victory this weekend would see Dabrowski capture her fifth doubles title at the Tevlin Challenger, having won the trophy in 2007, and from 2010-2012. The Ottawa native also reached the doubles final in 2014.

“There aren’t a lot of tournaments in Canada, and with how my schedule has been in doubles I haven’t been able to play the tournaments that are closer to home for me,” Dabrowski said of playing a Canadian event. “That being said, I feel privileged that I don’t have to travel too far away to go and play a tournament at the level I want to play at and courts that I’ve played on a lot. It does kind of feel like home because I’ve been here so much. It’s special, if it wasn’t such a great tournament I wouldn’t come back here and the field wouldn’t be as great as it is.”

Dabrowski and Krajicek will face No. 2 seeds Ashley Weinhold and Caitlin Whoriskey, both of the United States, in Saturday’s championship match. Weinhold and Whoriskey defeated wild cards Elena Bovina of Russia and fellow American Carson Branstine 6-7(5), 6-1, 10-6 on Friday afternoon.

Saturday’s action begins with the singles semifinals at 11 a.m., followed by the doubles final at the Centre of Excellence, the indoor tennis facility at Aviva Centre. The $50,000 Tevlin Women’s Challenger singles final will be held at noon on 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 draw and order of play.

 

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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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