Photo : Pascal Ratthé|Photo : Pascal Ratthé|
In the second day of action, the Canadian junior Fed Cup, Davis Cup and WJT teams went undefeated, not even losing a single set. The tournament is taking place at IGA Stadium in Montreal and is free for spectators to come cheer on our Canadian players.
The Junior Fed Cup team continued where they left off on Thursday, putting on dominant performances, this time against El Salvador. Annabelle Xu got things rolling with a straight forward 6-0, 6-2 victory over Matia Cristiani. Compatriot Mélodie Collard continued to momentum for Canada into the second singles match, overpowering Sara Valentina Cruz by an identical score, 6-0, 6-2, thus securing the victory for her nation. Collard then teamed up with Marina Stakusic to take the match 6-2, 6-0 over Cristiani and Cruz. The Canadian squad played focused and relaxed tennis in their matches on Friday.
Maxime St-Hilaire, Marko Stakusic and Jaden Weekes also showed confidence on the court against Costa Rica, playing with conviction and poise. St-Hilaire got the Davis Cup team off to a strong start thanks to his 6-1, 6-1 win against Luca Lo Nardo. The Quebec native was particularly strong on his service game with his opponent struggling to return. Stakusic then went on to give Canada the 2-0 lead with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Julian Lozano, maintaining his dominance from start to finish. Weekes and St-Hilaire capped off the day with a 6-3, 6-4 win in doubles over Lozano and Paulo Pocasangre Kreling.
After pulling out tough wins on Thursday, the Under 14 boys’ team was looking to stay in the running for a spot in the end of year competition. They got off to a great start as Sasha Rozin defeated Gabriel Porras of Guatemala 6-3, 6-3 to notch his first singles point for Canada. Teammate Stewart Aronson, who dropped his singles match the day before, took control of his match against Marcos Castellanos, taking it by a score of 6-2, 6-0. The team had their work cut out for them in doubles, but closed out the day with clutch play in the end. Rozin teamed up with Aleksandar Mitric to defeat the duo of Castellanos and Rafael Botan 6-3, 6-3.
On the girls’ side, the U14 team put on an impressive display against Guatemala as Cadence Brace got things started with a win over Mariela Fortuny by a score of 6-0, 6-1. Victoria Mboko was also dominant in her match against Deborah Dominguez, securing the second point for her nation with a 6-1, 6-3 win. Brace then teamed up with Kayla Cross to maintain the team’s perfect record, getting the better of Dominguez and Fortuny by a score of 6-1, 6-4.
The final day of competition begins on Saturday at 10 a.m. Canada has its work cut out as all four teams are set to take on powerhouse nation, the United States.
*Feature photo: Pascal Ratthé
