Tennis Canada – Abanda, Shapovalov, Polansky and Dancevic are one win away from qualifying for the main draw
 
Montreal, August 25, 2017 – The singles draws are set for the 2017 US Open and it will feature two Canadians, Eugenie Bouchard (Montreal, QC) and Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver, BC). Four Canadians could possibly join Bouchard and Pospisil, as Françoise Abanda (Montreal, QC), Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON), Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) and Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, ON) are playing in the final round of qualifications on Friday.
 
Bouchard will open against Evgeniya Rodina of Russia, who is currently ranked no. 83 in the world. The 23-year-old’s best result at the tournament was reaching the fourth round in both 2014 and 2015. The Canadian, currently ranked world no. 74, is coming into the US Open after reaching the second round at the WTA Premier event in New Haven. She could potentially face the tournament’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina in the second round. Other notable players in her quarter of the draw include French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and defending US Open champion Angelique Kerber.
 
For his part, Pospisil, who will be participating in his second straight Grand Slam main draw, will face world no. 42 Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the first round. Although he is currently ranked no. 78, Pospisil achieved a career-high ranking of no. 25 in 2014. The Canadian has been making a steady climb up the rankings all season, having started 2017 ranked world no. 133. He has only faced Verdasco once in his career, with the Spaniard walking away victorious during their encounter in Doha earlier this year. Pospisil in in the same quarter of the draw as Roger Federer, Dominic Thiem and Juan Martin del Potro. The Canadian could potentially face the Swiss in the third round.
 
World no. 11 Milos Raonic (Thornhill, ON) was forced to withdraw from the final Grand Slam event of the year after undergoing surgery on his wrist, an injury that kept him out of the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati earlier this month.
 
In qualifying action on Friday are four Canadians hoping to reach the US Open main draw. Françoise Abanda will be looking to qualify for her third straight Grand Slam main draw, after reaching the second round at both the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. Searching for his second Grand Slam main draw appearance is Denis Shapovalov, who has had an impressive season so far, capturing two ATP Challenger titles, playing his first Grand Slam match and defeating del Potro and Nadal on his way to reaching the semi-finals at the Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal. Fellow Canadians Peter Polansky and Frank Dancevic, whose best results at the US Open were reaching the second round, are also in the final round of qualifications.
 
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, eight professional ITF- sanctioned events and financially supports 15 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates national junior training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. 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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