Three Canadians Reach Quarter-Finals at Tevlin Challenger
November 19, 2009Drake, Jodoin and Fichman into doubles final The quarter-final match-ups are set at the $50,000 Tevlin Challenger and three Canadians have reached the final eight. Top-seed Stephanie Dubois (Laval, Quebec), No. 4 seed Sharon Fichman (Toronto) and Marie-Eve Pelletier (Repentigny, Quebec) all advanced past the second round of play on Thursday.
Pelletier kicked off the day with a quick, straight sets victory over No. 7 seed Madison Brengle (USA), 6-2, 6-0. The wildcard entrant has been a force thus far in her singles matches losing only eight games in the four sets she has played. Her quarter-final match pits her against fellow Canadian Fichman who battled through a close second set to defeat American Julia Boserup 6-2, 7-5.
“I feel like I’ve been playing well,” said Fichman. “Marie-Eve has also been playing great all week so I just have to go in there, play my game and see what I can do. There will definitely be a Canadian in the semifinals so that’s always good.”
Fichman also advanced to the final of the doubles draw with American partner Mashona Washington. The top-seeded duo eliminated No. 4 seeds Ashley Weinhold and Lindsay Lee-Waters 6-3, 6-2. Joining Fichman and Washington are surprise finalists Maureen Drake (Toronto) and National Training Centre (NTC) participant Marianne Jodoin. The 16-year-old will be playing in her first ITF pro circuit doubles final on Friday after defeating another all-Canadian team in Rebecca Marino (Vancouver) and Gabriela Dabrowski (Ottawa) in the semis. Playing with veteran doubles specialist Drake this week has been a fantastic experience for the young player.
“It’s nice to play with someone who is so experienced,” said Jodoin. “It’s good to see how she plays and I will learn a lot from her. It also feels really good to have my first doubles final be in Canada. It’s great.”
Dubois, the highest-ranked player in the tournament at No. 109, fought back after a tough first set to beat Georgia’s Anna Tatishvili 3-6, 6-1, 6-0. The 2008 Tevlin Challenger finalist will be up against Washington in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Unsuccessful in their bids to make the quarters were Valerie Tetreault (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec) and Marino who both lost in tight, three set matches.
Play on Friday begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Tennis Canada Centre of Excellence, the indoor facility located beside the world-class Rexall Centre in Toronto. Admission is free. Championship weekend at the Tevlin Challenger will be Web cast live via tenniscanada.com beginning with semifinal action on Saturday, November 21 at 11 a.m., followed by the singles final live on Sunday at 1 p.m.