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Pegula beats Anisimova to claim second straight NBO women’s title

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TORONTO – Jessica Pegula continues to dominate north of the border.

The No. 3 seed and sixth-ranked WTA Tour player topped Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to defend her National Bank Open women’s singles title in Monday’s all-American final.

Pegula, from nearby Buffalo, N.Y., also won last year’s Canadian tennis championship in Montreal and improved her all-time record at the event to 17-2 in securing the sixth tournament victory of her career.

Anisimova, who entered the week ranked No. 132 as she continues her comeback after stepping away from the game for a mental health break last year, beat three top-20 players in Toronto, including No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals.

Monday’s showdown marked just the second time the final of a WTA 1000 event — one step below the sport’s four Grand Slams — has featured two Americans since the format was first introduced in 2009, with the only other instance coming in 2016 when Serena Williams defeated Madison Keys in Rome.

Pegula, who improved to 3-0 against Anisimova after also topping her on clay earlier this season, beat Liudmila Samsonova in last year’s final.

The 30-year-old daughter of Terry and Kim Pegula — owners of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and NHL’s Buffalo Sabres — picked up a break in the first game and led 5-3 when Anisimova double-faulted to go down a set in the wind at Sobeys Stadium.

Anisimova trailed love-40 in the second set before battling back to hold and then broke Pegula to go up 2-1 following a long rally.

The 22-year-old former French Open semifinalist from Freehold, N.J., then pushed ahead 5-2 with another break when Pegula committed a double fault before holding serve to hand her compatriot her first dropped set of the tournament.

Pegula held serve to open the third set and then broke Anisimova to go up 2-0. She then held serve and broke Anisimova to move two points from the title.

Anisimova sent a return into the net to stretch Pegula’s lead to 5-0.

Pegula served out from there to become the first player to successfully defend her Canadian title since Martina Hingis in 2000 after Anisimova sent a shot long.

Monday marked the first time two American women have played for Canada’s national championship since Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati in 2001.

Pegula is the first player to register 10 consecutive wins in women’s singles at the Canadian Open since Serena Williams put up 14 wins from 2011 to 2014.

The NBO finals for both the women in Toronto and the men in Montreal were played on Monday for the first time because of scheduling related to the Paris Olympics.

Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe faced the American duo of Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk in Monday’s doubles final.

Dabrowski, who captured mixed doubles bronze for Canada at the Paris Olympics with Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, also won the NBO doubles crown in 2021 with former partner Luisa Stefani of Brazil.

Dabrowski and Routliffe beat Dolehie and Krawczyk in last month’s Wimbledon semifinals before losing out to Czechia’s Katerina Siniakov and Taylor Townsend of the U.S. in the title match.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 12, 2024.

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RCMP investigating after three found dead in Lloydminster, Sask.

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LLOYDMINSTER, SASK. – RCMP are investigating the deaths of three people in Lloydminster, Sask.

They said in a news release Thursday that there is no risk to the public.

On Wednesday evening, they said there was a heavy police presence around 50th Street and 47th Avenue as officers investigated an “unfolding incident.”

Mounties have not said how the people died, their ages or their genders.

Multiple media reports from the scene show yellow police tape blocking off a home, as well as an adjacent road and alleyway.

The city of Lloydminster straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.

Mounties said the three people were found on the Saskatchewan side of the city, but that the Alberta RCMP are investigating.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Sept. 12, 2024.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story; An earlier version said the three deceased were found on the Alberta side of Lloydminster.

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Three injured in Kingston, Ont., assault, police negotiating suspect’s surrender

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KINGSTON, Ont. – Police in Kingston, Ont., say three people have been sent to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a violent daytime assault.

Kingston police say officers have surrounded a suspect and were trying to negotiate his surrender as of 1 p.m.

Spokesperson Const. Anthony Colangeli says police received reports that the suspect may have been wielding an edged or blunt weapon, possibly both.

Colangeli says officers were called to the Integrated Care Hub around 10:40 a.m. after a report of a serious assault.

He says the three victims were all assaulted “in the vicinity,” of the drop-in health centre, not inside.

Police have closed Montreal Street between Railway Street and Hickson Avenue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

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Government intervention in Air Canada talks a threat to competition: Transat CEO

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Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.

“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.

“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.

Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.

Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.

Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.

The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.

As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”

“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.

The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.

It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.

Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.

The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.

“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”

Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.

“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.

“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.

“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)

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