There’ll be some familiar matchups at the final day of the National Bank Open Sunday.
No. 1-seed Daniil Medvedev will take on American qualifier Reilly Opelka in the men’s tournament in Toronto, while Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic faces Italy’s Camila Giorgi on the women’s side in Montreal.
Both duos have met before.
Medvedev, the world No. 2, has faced Opelka four times on the ATP Tour, with each match going to three sets. The Russian has won three of the contests, including the last meeting in the round of 32 at this year’s French Open.
Medvedev secured his spot in the final with a 6-2, 6-2 win over American John Isner in the semifinal. The 25-year-old hit 11 aces and won 4-of-7 break points in the speedy 54-minute match.
Medvedev said the six-foot-10 Isner wasn’t dishing out the same booming serve he’s known for on Saturday.
“I need to be honest _ I think something was bothering him,” he told reporters after the match. “I knew that I need to do the match from my side. I felt like I could return so that’s what I was trying to do in the rally, I was just trying to keep pressure on him all the time.
“I was serving pretty big also, so I’m just happy with my level of the game and happy with the result, that’s for sure.”
Medvedev reached the final at the tournament in 2019, when the event was known as the Rogers Cup. He lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal.
The Russian said he’s worked hard over the past two years to get better.
“I don’t want to say that I’ve become a 10-times better tennis player, playing better forehand or backhand,” he said. “If you try to stay on the same place, you’re going to regress. I heard it from many champions and from many people in life, business people or whatever.
“I try to improve every day. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes I get crazy on the courts, sometimes not. But that’s what life is about. It’s about emotions, it’s about every day trying to learn new things.”
Opelka upset No. 3-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in a marathon two-hour, 32-minute match to collect a spot in Sunday’s match.
Opelka saved the lone break point he faced, hit 17 aces and won 77 per cent of his first serve points in the 6(2)-7, 7-6(4), 6-4 win.
“I really was clutch with not only my serve but my volleys in the big moments,” he said
Midway through the 54-minute-long first set, the American hit a no-look, backwards shot between his legs from well below the baseline, only to see Tsitsipas return it across the court, just out of his reach.
“That was my only option from there,” Opelka said with a grin. “It’s kind of somewhat a highlight but tweeners are so common now, I always say they’re so mainstream, they’re not even cool anymore because everyone hits them.”
The first tiebreak saw the Greek go up 2-1 when Opelka, ranked 32nd in the world, came up to the net and sent a shot well out of bounds. The momentum seemed to swing, then, with Tsitsipas ultimately taking the tiebreak on an ace.
It was more of the same in the second set, with the six-foot-11 Opelka’s serve reaching speeds of up to 227 kilometres per hour, but Tsitsipas continued to adapt and respond.
The American went up 6-4 in the second tiebreak when Tsitsipas double faulted. Tsitsipas repeatedly threw his racket in frustration as Opelka finally took the tiebreak. He received a warning for racket abuse.
There were no signs of frustration, though, coming into the third set. Again, the duo each held fast to their serve and attempted to force their opponent into a misstep.
Tsitsipas got his first chance at a break point midway through the third set. Opelka responded with a massive serve that broke a string and forced him to switch rackets. The new tool provided him no trouble, as he got the point back with a quick drop shot and eventually took the game to knot the set at 3-3.
A pair of double faults saw Tsitsipas face a break point in the next game. He sailed a return high and wide, giving Opelka the first break of the match.
The Greek then took a ball out of his pocket and smashed it into the stands in frustration, and was handed a point penalty in response.
“I think he felt that I was serving well, I was earning points in a lot of different ways on my serve,” Opelka said. “Maybe it was just a fluke game, but I like to think it was pressure that I put on him with holding so easily the whole match.”
Opelka sealed the victory with one last blast of a serve that Tsitsipas simply couldn’t corral.
“It was played on the details and he prevailed,” Tsitsipas said of the loss. “It just didn’t go my way when it had to. And it’s alright. I feel like there’s hope for next time.”
At the women’s tournament in Montreal, Pliskova calmly clinched her spot in the final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Saturday.
She celebrated her first-set win with a muted fist pump, and when Sabalenka broke her in the second set, the No. 4 seed from the Czech Republic didn’t show any signs of being flustered.
“I’m quite calm. Of course I have some nerves and emotions but I try not to show it that much,” the 29-year-old said.
“There is a lot of things happening on the court but I think the main thing is just to have a goal and follow that goal.”
Sabalenka struggled with consistency throughout the match, registering five double faults and saving just 4-of-7 break points. She threw her racket to the ground in frustration early in the second set.
Meanwhile, Pliskova remained collected, and used her strong serve to keep her out of trouble. In the second set, the world No. 6 saved a break point with an ace, then preserved the hold with two other serves that Sabalenka simply couldn’t control.
“I think I was super solid today,” she said. “Just did everything I was supposed to do to win this match.”
Pliskova will face Italy’s Camila Giorgi on Sunday.
Giorgi, ranked 71st in the world, downed American qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the second semifinal on Saturday, hitting four aces and saving 7-of-10 break points en route to the victory.
Pliskova and Giorgi previously met at the Tokyo Olympics, where Giorgi took a straight-sets win in the round of 16.
The lone Canadian left in this year’s National Bank Open is Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski who, alongside doubles partner Luisa Stefani of Brazil, punched a ticket to the final with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in semifinal action.
On Sunday, they’ll face Croatia’s Darija Jurak and Andreja Klepac of Slovenia. The two teams met in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic, where Jurak and Klepac won 6-1, 7-5.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
