GRANBY, August 3, 2016

Seven Canadians have reached the second round of the Granby National Bank Challenger, including five who won their opening matches on Tuesday.

Reigning Granby finalist Philip Bester (Vancouver, BC) upset second-seeded Quentin Halys of France 6-2, 7-6(1). “I felt confident, I liked how I played, and I was able to be really aggressive,” Bester said after the match.

For his part, Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Tristan Lamsine of France thanks to a strong return game. Three-time Granby champion Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, ON) was unable to join his compatriots in round two after falling 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama.

Junior Wimbledon Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) made his much-anticipated tournament entrance on Tuesday night and the 17-year-old did not disappoint. Fresh off his second round appearance at the Rogers Cup in Toronto last week, Shapovalov defeated Aussie Luke Saville 7-6(2), 7-6(4) on the strength of ten aces.

The tournament’s top seed Stephane Robert was knocked by Marcelo Arevalo 6-1, 6-3. The 25-year-old from El Salvador saved all four break points he faced, converting four of his own to prevail in only 56 minutes. Arevalo will next meet Japanese Hiroki Moriya, who defeated Emilio Gomez 6-4, 6-4.

On the women’s side, Françoise Abanda (Montreal, QC) got the better of Japanese Hiroko Kuwata 6-3, 6-3 on centre court while Charlotte Robillard-Millette (Blainville, QC) fell 6-2, 6-3 to sixth-seeded Olga Govortsova of Belarus. “I should have been able to play my best tennis against her, it was the only way I was going to win, but I didn’t do that today and I am disappointed,” commented Robillard-Millette. Aleksandra Wozniak (Blainville, QC) finished Tuesday’s play with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory over fellow Canadian Catherine Leduc.