Philip Bester Plays Final Career Singles Match At Odlum Brown VanOpen

Philip Bester (photo: Bo Mo Kwan)

VANCOUVER, August 16, 2017 (Press Release)

From playing on the courts at Hollyburn at seven years old to being the featured match on Tuesday night at the $100,000 Odlum Brown VanOpen, things have come full circle for North Vancouver’s Philip Bester. The 28-year-old announced last month that he’ll retire after the 2017 tournament and he lost his first round singles match against Belgian Ruben Bemelmans on Tuesday night to close the book on his career as a pro tennis player.

“I wanted to go out on a high, I wasn’t hoping to just play one more match here, and so I was going to leave everything out on the court today and just fight and enjoy every single moment,” said Bester. “I’m happy with how I played, Ruben was a tough opponent and now it’s onto retirement.”
 
Although Bester has played his final singles match, he is still alive in doubles as he and partner Marius Copil of Romania were victorious in the opening round on Monday. He emphasized how much it means to him to play his final pro matches at the Hollyburn Country Club.
 
“It’s extra special, I picked this tournament as my spot because I wanted to be surrounded by my friends and my family, and at the end of the day look at my whole career as a celebration. It hasn’t quite sunk in that it’s the end of my singles career, but I look forward to playing here again on Thursday in doubles,” he added.

On the women’s side, four players punched their tickets to the main draw with wins on Tuesday. Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium upset top qualifying seed and Russian Elizavita Kulichkova 6-1, 6-7(3). Aussie Priscilla Hon also took out a seeded qualifying round player as she knocked off fourth seed Valentini Grammatikopoulou of Greece 6-2, 7-6(7). Japan’s Eri Hozumi beat compatriot and doubles partner Miyu Kato 7-5, 6-4 while sixth seed Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain took out third seed and Turkey’s Basak Eraydin 6-3, 6-1.
 

Matches continue on Wednesday, August 16 at 10 am, including Men’s Singles Main Draw Second Round, Men’s Doubles Main Draw First Round, Women’s Singles Main Draw First Round and Women’s Doubles Main Draw First Round. Tickets to the Odlum Brown VanOpen are on sale now, starting as low as $30.

Tuesday, August 15 – RESULTS
Men’s Singles Main Draw – First Round
Dudi Sela (1), Israel, def. (WC) Filip Peliwo, Canada, 7-6(4), 6-2,
Liam Broady, Great Britain, def. (LL) Marc Polmans, Australia, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4,
John Millman, Australia, def. Marius Copil (3), Romania, 7-5, 7-5,
Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Germany, def. (Q) Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, United States, 6-4, 6-4,
Taylor Fritz, United States, def. (Q) Takyani Garanganga, Zimbabwe, 6-3, 6-2,
Tennys Sandgren (8), United States, def. Duckhee Lee, Korea, 7-5, 7-6(5),
Stefano Napolitano, Italy, def. (LL) JC Aragone, United States, 6-1, 7-5,
Ruben Bemelmans (7), Belgium, def. (WC) Philip Bester, Canada, 7-6(6), 6-4,
Taro Daniel (6), Japan, def. Noah Rubin, United States, 7-5, 6-4,
(WC) Brayden Schnur, Canada, def. Gleb Sakharov, France, 6-4, 7-6(2),
Jordan Thompson (2), Australia, def. (WC) Benjamin Sigouin, Canada, 6-0, 6-1.
 
Men’s Doubles Main Draw – First Round
(2) James Cerretani, United States, and Neal Skupski, Great Britain, def. Luke Bambridge, Great Britain, and David O’Hare, Ireland, 6-4, 6-4,
JC Aragone, United States, and Ryan Shane, United States, def. Austin Krajicek, United States, and Tennys Sandgren, United States, 3-6, 6-3 (10-8).
 
Women’s Singles Qualifying – Final Round
Ysaline Bonaventure, Belgium, def. Elizavita Kulichkova (1), Russia, 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-4,
Priscilla Hon, Australia, def. Valentini Grammatikopoulou (4), Greece, 6-2, 7-6(7), 
Eri Hozumi (2), Japan, def. Miyu Kato (5), Japan, 7-5, 6-4,
Silvia Soler-Espinosa (6), Spain, def. Basak Eraydin (3), Turkey, 6-3, 6-1.
 
Women’s Singles Main Draw – First Round
Jana Cepelova (3), Slovakia, def. Polona Hercog, Slovenia, 6-4, 6-1,
Su Jeong Jang, Korea, def. Stefanie Voefele, Switzerland, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3,
Maryna Zanevska, Belgium, def. Arina Rodionova, Australia, 6-3, 4-3 (ret.)
Yanina Wickmayer, Belgium, def. Kateryna Kozlova (6), Ukraine, 6-3, 6-3,
Martina Trevisan, Italy, def. Julia Boserup (5), United States, 6-3, 6-4,
Nao Hibino (2), Japan, vs. Louisa Chirico, United States, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.
 
Women’s Doubles Main Draw – First Round
(WC) Aleksandra Wozniak, Canada, and Kaitlyn Christian, United States, def. Bianca Andreescu, Canada, and Dalma Galfi, Hungary, 5-7, 6-4 (10-7), 
Arantxa Rus, Netherlands, and Maryna Zanevska, Belgium, def. (WC) Charlotte Robillard-Millette, Canada, and Usue Maitane Arconada, United States, 7-5, 2-6 (10-4).