Compatriot Rebecca Marino ready for Sunday’s singles finale at city-hosted tennis tournament
Doubles day at The Challenger didn’t disappoint for home-country star Kayla Cross.
The Ontarian tennis talent joined American Maribella Zamarripa in hoisting the hardware Saturday after winning the women’s doubles title of the 2024 Calgary National Bank Challenger.
The 19-year-old Cross, of London, Ont., and Zamarripa, 22, overcame a first-set hole to defeat the U.S. pairing of Robin Anderson and Delayna Hewitt 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-8 at the Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre.
On Sunday, it’s the singles in the spotlight, with Canadian Rebecca Marino readying herself to play American Anna Rogers.
Marino, the second-seeded woman at the event, was a semifinal winner — in 6-0, 2-6, 6-0 style — over fellow Canuck Cadence Brace, while Rogers upset top-rated Tatjana Maria, of Germany, 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Marino and Rogers square off at 1 p.m. on the final day of The Challenger.
The men’s final follows with Govan Nanda and Murphy Cassone meeting in an all-American match. It’s somewhat of a surprise final, given both had to qualify for the main draw.
In the semis, it was Nanda upending seventh-rated Liam Draxl, of Newmarket, Ont., 6-2, 6-4, and Cassone knocking off third-ranked Aziz Dougaz, of Tunisia, 7-5, 6-4.
Also Saturday, the men’s doubles trophy was taken by Patrik Trhac and Ryan Seggerman. The top-seeded tandem topped fellow Americans Robert Cash and JJ Tracy — the second-seeded side — 6-3, 7-6 (3).
The Challenger, which runs through Sunday at the ATC, is currently 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.