Four Canadians to participate in singles at 2019 French Open

Denis Shapovalov (Wikimedia Commons)

There will be four Canadians participating in singles at the 2019 French Open which starts Sunday from Roland Garros. They are Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec in men’s action and Eugenie Bouchard of Montreal, Quebec and Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ontario in women’s action.

Both Canadian men are seeded as Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario, is 20th, while Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec is 25th. Shapovalov is facing Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany in one of the first round matches, while Auger-Aliassime is facing Jordan Thompson of Australia.

This will be the third time that Shapovalov is playing Struff. Shapovalov beat Struff 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Japan Open. However, Struff came back to beat Shapovalov 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the 2019 Monte Carlo Masters.

Auger-Aliassime meanwhile is going into his first round match against Thompson with momentum. On Saturday, Auger-Aliassime reached his second ATP Final, but lost 6-4, 6-3 to Benoit Paire of France at the Lyon Open. The other time Auger-Aliassime reached an ATP Final in 2019 was also on clay. In February, Auger-Aliassime reached the final of the Rio Open before losing 6-3, 7-5 to Laslo Djere of Serbia.

Andreescu is coming back from a shoulder injury, and due to her remarkable tournament win at Indian Wells, is seeded 22nd. Her first round opponent will be Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic. This will be the first time Andreescu and Bouzkova have met on the WTA Tour.

Like Andreescu, Bouchard has been out for a while. She took time off for a mental health break. Bouchard has not played since losing 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to Kirsten Flipkens in the first round of Indian Wells in March. Her first round opponent will be the 27th ranked Lesia Tsurenko of the Ukraine and this will be their first ever meeting on the WTA Tour. Meanwhile, Canada’s other tennis superstar Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario is not competing at the French Open because of a knee injury.

 

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