Liam Draxl’s Friday was filled with emotion at the 2024 Calgary National Bank Challenger.
The young Canadian and defending champion worked his way into the semifinals in singles action. Seventh-seeded Draxl, of Newmarket, Ont., took down fourth-seeded Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in quarterfinal action at the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre.
Draxl then joined Calgary’s Cleeve Harper in doubles play, trying to reach the final. But their semifinal showdown against Americans Robert Cash and J.J. Tracy ended in heartbreak, as the Canadians lost 7-6 (4), 6-4, 10-8. That moves Cash and Tracy into Saturday’s final against fellow U.S. talents Patrik Trhac and Ryan Seggerman, who defeated Tunisia’s Aziz Dougaz and Zimbabwe’s Courtney John Lock 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the other semi.
Also in men’s quarters, Quebec’s Alexis Galarneau fell in heartbreaking fashion after a marathon match with American Murphy Cassone. The thriller ended 7-6 (7), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4).
On the women’s side at The Challenger, two Canadians remain in the hunt for the singles title.
Cadence Brace, just 19, is on to the semifinal round after dropping fellow Ontarian Kayla Cross 6-2, 7-5.
And Rebecca Marino, who at 33 is the second-highest-ranked Canadian in the WTA at 136, also advanced to the semis with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Anouk Koevermans of the Netherlands late Friday. Marino is the second seed at the event.
Also in women’s semis action Friday, Vancouver’s Stacey Fung was eliminated by American Anna Rogers in 6-2, 6-3 fashion.
In doubles play late Friday, Cross and American teammate Maribella Zamarripa defeated Brace and American partner Jamie Loeb 6-3, 6-2 for a spot in Saturday’s final. Cross and Zamarripa will play for the title against Americans Dalayna Hewitt and Robin Anderson, who rallied for a 2-6, 7-6 (5), 10-8 win over Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia and Gabriela Andrea Knutson of Czechia in the other semi.
The Challenger, which runs through Sunday at the ATC, is the largest international tennis tournament in Canada outside of the National Bank Open, which is comprised of the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 events. The Challenger features many of the best up-and-coming and established stars on the ATP Tour and WTA World Tour.