It’s a “special” home-court win for Rebecca Marino.
That’s how the Canadian described her triumph at the 2024 Calgary National Bank Challenger on Sunday at the Osten & Victor Tennis Centre.
The Canuck clinched her third title of the season by defeating American Anna Rogers 7-5, 6-4 in the women’s singles final.
“To be able to play at home in Canada is really something special to me,” Marino told the ATC crowd post-match. “I am from Vancouver, so I feel like this is home to me being back in Canada.
“I just want to thank everyone who made this tournament possible.”
Mostly, she made it possible herself with a sweep through the week-long event as the second seeded women’s player at the tournament.
Marino, who was taking part in the event at the ATC for the first time in her career, was near perfect throughout the week, dropping just one set, which came in her semifinal against fellow Canadian Cadence Brace.
In the final, Marino broke her opponent on six occasions, winning the match in just over 90 minutes. With the victory, Marino draws ever closer to the Top 100 and will be No. 118 in the world when the WTA rankings are updated Monday.
It’s been a remarkable season for the Vancouverite, as she has moved up the WTA rankings to become the second-highest-ranked Canadian female tennis player in the world. And the 33-year-old still has plenty of quality tennis ahead of her on the 2024 calendar.
“We have the Billie Jean Cup in about a month,” Marino said. “I’m going to be on the team for that for Canada.”
On the men’s side of The Challenger, Murphy Cassone of the United States emerged victorious with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Sunday win over fellow American Govind Nanda.
Qualifier Cassone, who is ranked 509th in the world, had a memorable week in Calgary, defeating three of the tournament’s top seeds en route to the biggest title of his career. One of his victories came over Quebec’s Alexis Galarneau in an exciting quarterfinal, in which he won 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4).
In the doubles draws Saturday, Ontario’s Kayla Cross and American partner Maribella Zamarripa took home the crown with a 6-7 (3), 7-5, 12-10 victory over the all-USA duo of Robin Anderson and Dalayna Hewitt.
Americans were also crowned after Saturday’s men’s doubles final, which was an all-USA match. In the end, it was Ryan Seggerman and Patrik Trhac who prevailed 6-3, 7-6 (3) over Robert Cash and James Tracy.