SHERBROOKE, February 21, 2018 (Press Release)
The players list for the Subaru Sherbrooke Futures presented by Énergie 106.1, was unveiled on Wednesday. Sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the tournament, which offers $25, 000 U.S. in total prize money, will be held from March 3-11, 2018 at the Christian Bourque indoor tennis courts of the Rock Forest Recreation Centre in Sherbrooke.
“This year’s tournament has a very strong draw from a rankings perspective, with 11 Top 300 players set to compete, including one player ranked inside the Top 200,” stated Tournament Director Francis Milloy. “The tournament has an impressive list of past champions, with many players having gone on to achieve great things in their professional careers. Fans in Sherbrooke have a unique opportunity to get to know some of the sport’s Canadian and international stars.”
Frank Dancevic (Niagara Falls, ON), the recently appointed Davis Cup captain, will be the only Canadian in the main draw thanks to his current ranking of world no. 344. He will be playing in Sherbrooke for only the second time in his career, having lost in the second round of the tournament in 2016. The former world no. 65 (2007), has been a mainstay on the Canadian circuit, having won a total of eight singles titles on home soil, five at the Futures level and three at the Challenger level. In his career, he has been crowned singles champion 15 times and has posted two Top 10 wins over Andy Roddick and David Nalbandian.
Four Canadians are slated to receive wildcards for the tournament, one of which is expected to be given to the 24-year-old Samuel Monette (Montreal, QC) who is currently ranked a career-high world no. 479. In his first full season on the professional circuit, the Montreal native moved up over 1000 ranking spots and cracked into the Top 500 for the first time in 2017. He also won the first singles title of his career at the Bruno Agostinelli Futures in Niagara, Ontario. Monette will be making his fifth appearance at the Sherbrooke Futures. His best result came in 2012 when he reached he quarter-finals after having to go through qualifications to secure a spot in the main draw. The other main draw wildcard recipients will be announced at a later date. Benjamin Lortie and Jean-Baptiste Mattesco have received wildcards into the qualifying draw.
There will be a strong French contingent present in Sherbrooke, led by the tournament’s top seed and the 2017 finalist Gleb Sakharov. Currently ranked world no. 160, Sakharov had great success on Canadian soil last year, as he reached the final at both the Gatineau and Sherbrooke Futures. Despite losing to Canadian players on both occasions, the Frenchman went on to capture two titles and reach a career-high ranking of no. 153. Vincent Millot (world no. 210) joins his compatriot in the main draw as the tournament’s third seed. Competing for the fifth time in Sherbrooke, Millot will be looking to improve on his best result, which was reaching the quarter-finals in 2012 and 2014. Two other players that fans will want to keep an eye on are Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands who recently defeated world no. 13 Stan Wawrinka at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam and Austin Krajicek who was crowned champion during his first and only participation in Sherbrooke in 2013.
The Subaru Sherbrooke Futures presented by Énergie 106.1 is the second in a series of three tournaments that will be played in Quebec during the months of February and March. The event will be followed by the Drummondville National Bank Challenger.
