Canadian doubles star Gabriela Dabrowski was eliminated from the National Bank Open after a narrow opening-round loss alongside Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in Toronto.
The pair pushed Americans Coco Gauff and Caty McNally to a deciding match tiebreak on Thursday before falling 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 at Sobeys Stadium.
Dabrowski and Alexandrova had a match point in the tiebreak, but Gauff and McNally fought it off before converting their first opportunity to seal the victory.
Dabrowski, ranked No. 3 in the world in doubles, was playing without her regular partner, Brazil’s Luisa Stefani, who skipped the WTA 1000 tournament because of an elbow injury. Dabrowski said she entered the event with limited expectations given the new partnership and viewed the match as an opportunity to continue developing her doubles game.
The Ottawa native, who is the reigning U.S. Open doubles champion with former partner Erin Routliffe, is expected to reunite with Stefani at the Cincinnati Open later this month ahead of the U.S. Open.
Elsewhere in Toronto, several leading singles players advanced to the Round of 16.
Seventh seed Iga Swiatek defeated Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1, while third seed Jessica Pegula beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 6-0. Alexandrova also advanced after defeating Australia’s Talia Gibson 5-7, 6-1, 6-3.
Rain disrupted Thursday’s schedule, suspending several matches. Leylah and Bianca Fernandez were trailing Diana Shnaider and Elise Mertens 6-1, 3-1 in doubles when play was halted.
Leylah Fernandez remains the only Canadian in the singles draw and is scheduled to face fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva in the third round.
Canadian Men Hit by Injuries in Montreal
Canada’s men’s contingent has meanwhile endured a difficult National Bank Open in Montreal, with Felix Auger-Aliassime, Gabriel Diallo and Denis Shapovalov all sidelined by injuries.
Auger-Aliassime, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, withdrew before his opening match because of a back injury suffered during practice. Tennis Canada said it does not expect the issue to keep him out for an extended period.
Diallo retired from his opening match with an apparent leg injury and will miss the upcoming Cincinnati Masters, while Shapovalov was forced to retire after suffering an ankle injury.
The men’s tournament has also seen a string of major upsets. Twelve seeded players were eliminated Wednesday, including top seed Alexander Zverev and fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.
By Thursday, six of the top eight seeds were out, with third-seeded Alex de Minaur joining the list after losing to Britain’s Cameron Norrie 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1.
There was better news for Canada in men’s doubles, where Duncan Chan and Alexis Galarneau upset Zverev and Marcelo Melo 6-3, 7-6 (5).
