It has been a week of formidable tennis in Paris for Leylah Annie Fernandez and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Taking it one step further will be an immense challenge.
Both Canadians are into the round of 16 in singles at the French Open for the first time in their respective careers, adapting to the thick red dirt of Roland Garros with equal parts nuance and ferocity.
Sunday morning, they will both play for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Fernandez’s run through the first week has been characterized not only by her effective game atop the baseline, redirecting shots with heavy left-handed spin, but also by her fighting spirit.
She navigated Kristina Mladenovic, and the crowd, in a 6-0, 7-5 victory in the first round, responding with a steely determination to the Parisian hostility that often greets the compatriot’s challenger.
Fernandez survived a 5-3 deficit in the second and staved off set points before closing the affair.
After a comfortable second-round win over Katerina Siniakova, she was tasked with a tall order against seasoned competitor and great talent, Belinda Bencic in what would become one of the more compelling matches of the tournament.
In a clash of razor-thin margins, Fernandez overcame the savvy Swiss player 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 in 2 hours, 49 minutes, hitting 34 winners to just 22 errors in the encounter.
Fernandez also overcame an early third-set deficit, and despite a late rally from Bencic, managed to finish the match out on serve at love.
Fernandez the fighter
“I think today it was just trusting my game when it mattered most,” explained Fernandez.
“I am glad that I was able to trust it enough for me to keep going and keep executing the game plan.”
Beyond her quality of shots, it is self-belief and persistence that are becoming the hallmarks of the Canadian’s young career.
In her U.S. Open finals run last season, four of her six match wins were of the three-set variety.
At the Monterrey Open this past March, the site of her second career WTA title, she saved five championship points before overcoming Camila Osorio in the final.
What awaits now is an intriguing round of 16 between two of the three youngest players inside the top 25.
American Amanda Anisimova, whose power and shot-making has led her past the likes of Naomi Osaka and Karolina Muchova in the opening week, is no stranger to playing her best tennis in Paris.
Three seasons ago, she produced a run to the semifinals with notable upset wins over Aryna Sabalenka and Simona Halep.
It’s a battle of youth that Fernandez regards with pride.
“It’s great to see that all of us are improving every year and that we keep playing against the best players in the world here and can hold our own,” said the Canadian.
Anisimova and Fernandez have a brief history too, having just squared off two months ago at Indian Wells.
Fernandez came away with the victory on hard court, 2-6, 7-6 ret. as the Canadian again found a way to mount a comeback, saving four match points to win the second set. Anisimova then called it quits before the third began due to illness.
The pair will be first up for the day session on Phillippe-Chatrier.
Fellow Quebecer Felix Auger-Aliassime has enjoyed a similar run of breakthrough success in his opening week at Roland Garros.
Though he was a junior French Open finalist in 2016, until this year, he had failed to produce any results in his professional career, exiting in the first round the past two seasons.
It looked much like he may suffer the same fate this time around, as he trailed two sets to love in his opening match last Sunday, before hitting another gear and eventually defeating Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas 2-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3.
The closeout to that match was the beginning of a nine-set winning streak in Paris, as he dismantled Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Filip Krajinovic in rounds two and three.
With the result, Auger-Aliassime has now reached the second week of all four majors.
Big serving, poise under pressure, and dictating baseline play with his precise forehand have been the staples of his success. When he gets pushed in rallies, elite defence and athleticism come to his aid.
He will need every ounce of his talent and then some to conquer his next foe.
13-time French Open champion and red-dirt force of nature, Rafael Nadal awaits in the Round of 16, a sporting legend whose name is etched in the record books as the greatest clay-court player tennis has ever seen.
Only two men have ever defeated the Spaniard at the event, with 20-time slam champion Novak Djokovic having done so twice (2021, 2015) and former top-five standout Robin Soderling shocking the tennis world with his upset win in 2009.
In press, Auger-Aliassime may have been trying to downplay the occasion.
“It’s another match and another opportunity to try to play a good match and win… but of course, it’s very difficult,” Auger-Aliassime explained.
It’s well documented how difficult it is to defeat Rafa on clay in Paris.
One advantage the Canadian might have had over his fellow competitors was the best available playbook, courtesy of Rafa’s uncle Toni, a member of his coaching team.
However, Toni will opt to sit this one out.
Toni Nadal says he won’t attend Rafa vs Auger-Aliassime match: “I already told Felix I won’t give him any suggestion on how to beat my nephew.” (via Clay Tenis)
Auger-Aliassime may lack the tour experience and pedigree that Nadal has, but he’s been steadily gaining match play against the very best over time.
Just two weeks ago, he mounted a valiant effort against Novak Djokovic in Rome, sustaining a tight 7-5, 7-6 loss.
Earlier this season in Australia, he held a match point against world no. 2 Daniil Medvedev, narrowly losing in the quarterfinals in five sets.
These learning experiences helped Auger-Aliassime win his first career title in Rotterdam this past February and achieve a new career-high ranking of No 9.
The oddsmakers will give him the slimmest of chances against Nadal, however, the attitude and composure of the Felix tells us he will be present and ready to compete at his highest level come match time.
“It’s up to me when I come on the court to try to find solutions,” said the Canadian.
If he can solve Nadal on a clay court, he’ll be just the third man in history to do so at Roland Garros.
DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings made another investment this week in a young standout, signing Moritz Seider to a seven-year contract worth nearly $60 million.
The Red Wings announced the move with the 23-year-old German defenseman on Thursday, three days after keeping 22-year-old forward Lucas Raymond with a $64.6 million, eight-year deal.
Detroit drafted Seider with the No. 6 pick overall eight years ago and he has proven to be a great pick. He has 134 career points, the most by a defenseman drafted in 2019.
He was the NHL’s only player to have at least 200 hits and block 200-plus shots last season, when he scored a career-high nine goals and had 42 points for the second straight year.
Seider won the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie in 2022 after he had a career-high 50 points.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman is banking on Seider, whose contract will count $8.55 million annually against the cap, and Raymond to turn a rebuilding team into a winner.
Detroit has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons, the longest postseason drought in franchise history.
The Red Wings, who won four Stanley Cups from 1997 to 2008, have been reeling since their run of 25 straight postseasons ended in 2016.
Detroit was 41-32-9 last season and finished with a winning record for the first time since its last playoff appearance.
Yzerman re-signed Patrick Kane last summer and signed some free agents, including Vladimir Tarasenko to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million after he helped the Florida Panthers hoist the Cup.
Veterans Tyson Beukeboom and Karen Paquin will lead Canada at the WXV 1 women’s rugby tournament starting later this month in the Vancouver area.
WXV 1 includes the top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (England, France and Ireland) and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series (Canada, New Zealand, and the United States).
Third-ranked Canada faces No. 4 France, No. 7 Ireland and No. 1 England in the elite division of the three-tiered WXV tournament that runs Sept. 29 to Oct. 12 in Vancouver and Langley, B.C. No. 2 New Zealand and the eighth-ranked U.S. make up the six-team WVX 1 field.
“Our preparation time was short but efficient. This will be a strong team,” Canada coach Kevin Rouet said in a statement. “All the players have worked very hard for the last couple of weeks to prepare for WXV and we are excited for these next three matches and for the chance to play on home soil here in Vancouver against the best rugby teams in the world.
“France, Ireland and England will each challenge us in different ways but it’s another opportunity to test ourselves and another step in our journey to the Rugby World Cup next year.”
Beukeboom serves as captain in the injury absence of Sophie de Goede. The 33-year-old from Uxbridge, Ont., earned her Canadian-record 68th international cap in Canada’s first-ever victory over New Zealand in May at the Pacific Four Series.
Twenty three of the 30 Canadian players selected for WXV 1 were part of that Pacific Four Series squad.
Rouet’s roster includes the uncapped Asia Hogan-Rochester, Caroline Crossley and Rori Wood.
Hogan-Rochester and Crossley were part of the Canadian team that won rugby sevens silver at the Paris Olympics, along with WXV teammates Fancy Bermudez, Olivia Apps, Alysha Corrigan and Taylor Perry. Wood is a veteran of five seasons at UBC.
The 37-year-old Paquin, who has 38 caps for Canada including the 2014 Rugby World Cup, returns to the team for the first time since the 2021 World Cup.
Canada opens the tournament Sept. 29 against France at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver before facing Ireland on Oct. 5 at Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, and England on Oct. 12 at B.C. Place.
The second-tier WXV 2 and third-tier WXV 3 are slated to run Sept. 27 to Oct. 12, in South Africa and Dubai, respectively.
WXV 2 features Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa and Wales while WXV 3 is made up of Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, the Netherlands, Samoa and Spain.
The tournament has 2025 World Cup qualification implications, although Canada, New Zealand and France, like host England, had already qualified by reaching the semifinals of the last tournament.
Ireland, South Africa, the U.S., Japan, Fiji and Brazil have also booked their ticket, with the final six berths going to the highest-finishing WXV teams who have not yet qualified through regional tournaments.
Canada’s Women’s Rugby Team WXV 1 Squad
Forwards
Alexandria Ellis, Ottawa, Stade Français Paris (France); Brittany Kassil, Guelph, Ont., Guelph Goats; Caroline Crossley, Victoria, Castaway Wanderers; Courtney Holtkamp, Rimbey, Alta., Red Deer Titans Rugby; DaLeaka Menin, Vulcan, Alta., Exeter Chiefs (England); Emily Tuttosi, Souris, Man., Exeter Chiefs (England); Fabiola Forteza, Quebec City, Stade Bordelais (France); Gabrielle Senft, Regina, Saracens (England); Gillian Boag, Calgary, Gloucester-Hartpury (England); Julia Omokhuale, Calgary, Leicester Tigers (England); Karen Paquin, Quebec City, Club de rugby de Quebec; Laetitia Royer, Loretteville, Que., ASM Romagnat (France); McKinley Hunt, King City, Ont., Saracens (England); Pamphinette Buisa, Gatineau, Que., Ottawa Irish; Rori Wood, Sooke, B.C., College Rifles RFC; Sara Cline, Edmonton, Leprechaun Tigers; Tyson Beukeboom, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England);
Backs
Alexandra Tessier, Sainte-Clotilde-de-Horton, Que., Exeter Chiefs (England); Alysha Corrigan, Charlottetown, P.E.I., CRFC; Asia Hogan-Rochester, Toronto, Toronto Nomads; Claire Gallagher, Caledon, Ont., Leicester Tigers (England); Fancy Bermudez, Edmonton, Saracens (England); Julia Schell, Uxbridge, Ont., Ealing Trailfinders (England); Justine Pelletier, Rivière-du-Loup, Que, Stade Bordelais (France); Mahalia Robinson, Fulford, Que., Town of Mount Royal RFC; Olivia Apps, Lindsay, Ont., Lindsay RFC; Paige Farries, Red Deer, Alta., Saracens (England); Sara Kaljuvee, Ajax, Ont., Westshore RFC; Shoshanah Seumanutafa, White Rock, B.C., Counties Manukau (New Zealand); Taylor Perry, Oakville, Ont., Exeter Chiefs (England).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
PENTICTON, B.C. – Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he’s been working his way back from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in last season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all star says the rehabilitation process has been frustrating, but he has made good progress in recent weeks and is confident he’ll be able to return to playing.
He says he and his medical team have spent the last few months talking to specialists around the world, and have not found a single other hockey player who has dealt with the same injury.
Demko missed several weeks of the last season with a knee ailment and played just one game in Vancouver’s playoff run last spring before going down with the current injury.
He was not on the ice with his teammates as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, but skated on his own before the sessions began.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
