GRANBY, July 28, 2017

Three Canadians advanced to the quarterfinals of the $100,000 Banque Nationale Challenger in Granby: Peter Polansky, Brayden Schnur and #NextGenATP Denis Shapovalov were successful in their second round matches on Thursday.

Schnur was the first Canadian to book his spot in the final eight thanks to an upset win over third-seeded Go Soeda of Japan. Ranked No. 208 in the world, the Ontario native needed close to two hours and 30 minutes to pull out a 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 victory, which will allow him to crack the Top 200 for the first time. Schnur will next face Aussie Max Purcell.

For his part, Polansky continued his strong play, defeating Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 as he continues his quest to reach a third consecutive Challenger final. Seeded second in the draw, Polansky will play Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama for a place in the semi-finals.

Shapovalov, who contested the final match of the evening, joined his compatriots in the round of 8 following a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 triumph over Yuki Bhambri of India to extend his undefeated run to seven matches. He’ll go up against US-American Mackenzie McDonald on Friday.

The tournament’s number one Blaz Kavcic also advanced with 6-4, 7-5 win over British qualifier Liam Broady. The World No. 100 from Slovenia broke serve five times to secure victory in one hour and 36 minutes.

Sebov Into Semis

In the $60,000 ITF Women’s event, the second round matchup between two of Canada’s rising stars, Bianca Andreescu and Katherine Sebov, was closely contested. In the end, it was Sebov who came out on top 7-6, 7-5 to set a quarterfinal meeting against Mayo Hibi of Japan. Aleksandra Wozniak saw her win streak snapped by Sarah-Rebecca Sekulic of Germany, who was a 6-0, 6-4 winner in Thursday’s first night session match.