MONTREAL, July 30, 2019 (Tennis Canada Press Release)
Tennis Canada announced on Tuesday the names of the players who have received a Wild Card into the 2019 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank in Montreal. Three Wild Cards for the main draw of the ATP Masters 1000 event have been awarded to Brayden Schnur (Pickering, ON), Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver, BC) and Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON).
Canada will certainly be well represented in Montreal, as at least six players will compete on the big stage. This is a testament to the stellar performances that Canadian players have had since the start of the year.
After reaching his first ATP 250 final in New York in February, Schnur soared up the rankings, climbing 100 spots since January. During his run to the final, he eliminated two Top 50 players in Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey. The 24-year-old will be competing in the Rogers Cup main draw for only the third time.
For his part, Pospisil is in the midst of a comeback to tennis, having spent eight months recovering from a back injury. The world no. 210 has always had good success playing in Montreal, with his best performance coming in 2013 when he reached the semi-finals, notably defeating no. 6 Tomas Berdych.
Polansky is coming off a good few weeks playing the Canadian circuit of Challenger tournaments. He reached the doubles final in Winnipeg and the singles semi-finals in Granby. The Ontario native won his first match at the Rogers Cup in Montreal two years ago, defeating compatriot Pospisil before falling to Roger Federer in the following round.
There is one main draw Wild Card left to be awarded in Montreal, which will be announced at a later date. The Wild Cards for the WTA Premier 5 event in Toronto will be announced in the coming days.
Wild Cards for Qualifying and Doubles Draws
The Wild Cards for the qualifying events were also announced on Tuesday. The recipients include Steven Diez (Toronto, ON), Filip Peliwo (Vancouver, BC) and Alexis Galarneau (Laval, QC). Diez won his first Challenger title earlier this year in Australia, while Peliwo reached the final at the Jerusalem Challenger in May. For his part, Galarneau has been gaining valuable experience playing in local Challenger events, eliminating top seeded players in both Gatineau and Granby. The final qualifying spot will go to Tommy Paul of the United States as part of a trade with the USTA that allowed Daniel Nestor to compete in his final US Open last fall.
In doubles, Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montréal, QC) will team-up with fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil to play in the doubles draw. The duo, who are competing for the first time together, have received a Wild Card to compete in the doubles draw in Montreal.
Owned and operated by Tennis Canada, the prestigious Rogers Cup presented by National Bank attracts the biggest stars in tennis year after year. In 2019, the men’s event will take place at IGA Stadium in Montreal from August 2 to 11.
Tickets are on sale online at www.couperogers.com for the Montreal tournament.
