GRANBY, July 31, 2017

Blaz Kavcic is the champion of the $100,000 Banque National Challenger in Granby. The Top seed from Slovenia battled past the tournament’s number two Peter Polansky in Sunday’s title match 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

Kavcic withstood 10 aces, hitting seven of his own. He broke serve four times to prevail after two hours and five minutes, clinching his 16th ATP Challenger title.

“I was feeling tired a while back, but it was my coach who convinced me to come and play in these Canadian Challenger tournaments,” Kavcic told. “I know that the fans today were cheering for Peter, but thank you for also cheering for me when I made good shots. Congratulations to Peter on a great match. We played about two weeks ago in the final in Winnipeg and both matches were long and hard fought. I hope that we don’t have to play against each other soon, because it is very tough to play against him.”

It was Kavcic’s second win over Polansky in three weeks. The 30-year-old from Ljubljana also beat the Canadian in the Winnipeg Challenger final.

“It was a pretty high-level match that could have gone either way. I think we both had a little fun on some of the points, the match had a little bit of everything and was pretty entertaining,” stated Polansky after the final. “It was hard fought on both sides, with some good points from both of us. I am pleased with my performances in these last few weeks. I look forward to playing again in Montreal at the Rogers Cup.”

Sebov Finishes Runner-Up

First up on Centre Court was the $60,000 ITF women’s final opposing Canadian Katherine Sebov against Italian Cristiana Ferrando. Both players had to go through tough opponents in order to reach the final, with Sebov notably eliminating the tournament’s eighth seed Mayo Hibi of Japan and compatriot Bianca Andreescu, the tournament’s first seed. The 18-year-old Canadian was looking to capture her first professional title on Sunday.

Katherine Sebov and Cristiana Ferrando (photo: Tennis Canada)

Playing in her first final at the professional level, Sebov showed some nerves early in the match, where she went down two early breaks. After 34 minutes of play, the Canadian dropped the first set to her Italian opponent, committing two double faults in the process. In the second, she was again broken in her opening service game, and broken twice more. Serving for the match, Ferrando seemed in control of the match, reaching championship point. The young Canadian, however, was determined to fight back and broke her opponent to stay in the match. With the full support of the packed crowd, Sebov broke again and regained confidence. Although she managed to save a second match point, she was unable to do it a third time, loosing 6-2, 6-3 to Ferrando.

“I had a really great week here in Granby. I didn’t play my best tennis in today’s match, but I am proud of my performance overall,” stated Sebov. “Thank you to everyone who helped to organize this tournament and thanks to the fans who supported me, especially during today’s match.”