Above photo: Rebecca Marino. Photo by David Mahussier of 1812 Photography.
Canadian Marino Into Semifinals
Rebecca Marino of Vancouver edged Australia’s Astra Sharma 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in a quarterfinal match Friday that lasted over two and a half hours. Marino’s semifinal opponent Saturday will be Mexico’s Victoria Rodriguez, who got by Erika Sema of Japan 6-7, 6-3, 6-1.
Glusho To Meet Inglis In Semis
No. 2 seed Julia Glushko of Israel advanced to the women’s singles semifinals with a 6-2, 6-1 win Friday over Italy’s Georgia Brescia. Glusko will now play Maddison Inglis, who beat American Sophie Chang 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.
Glushko played Inglis at a recent tournament in Thailand, with Glushko winning 6-3, 6-3.
“She’s a good player, very consistent, and moves pretty well around the court,” Glushko said of Inglis. “I think I just have to be aggressive and play my game.”
Glushko reached the final of three tournaments in Asia in June, winning a title in Thailand, losing the final of another event in Thailand and then winning a title in Singapore. All three were $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit tournaments.
Glushko, 28, was born in Ukraine and moved to Israel at the age of nine.
“Both my parents are (tennis) coaches” she said. “My dad coached me throughout my childhood.”
Glushko reached a career high ranking of No. 79 in the world in 2014.
“I love Canada – Canada’s one of my favourite (places to play),” said Glushko. “I love coming back here. I’ve been here before (to the Winnipeg Bank National Challenger) and I’ve been to Canada several times.”
Inglis, meantime, traveled a long way to get to Winnipeg.
“I think Canada is the farthest away,” the 20-year-old Australian said of the places she’s competed in. “It was a long way to get here. It’s an awesome way to see the world.”
Inglis won a wildcard playoff to get into the main draw of the 2016 Australian Open before losing to Ekaterina Makarova.
Inglis has won all three of her matches in Winnipeg in straight sets, including a 6-4, 7-6 victory over No. 4 seed Maria Sanchez in the second round.
“I’m really liking the conditions here,” said Inglis. “I feel like I’m hitting the ball pretty well. It’s a bit windy but I’m from Perth so I’m used to the wind.”
Inglis is now looking forward to her semifinal match against Glushko.
“She’s a really good player so I’ll have to play well to beat her, that’s for sure,” Inglis said.
Galarneau Falls To Soeda
Alexis Galarneau’s great run at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger came to an end Friday with a 6-0, 6-2 quarterfinal loss to 2016 champion Go Soeda of Japan.
“I thought he played very well,” Galarneau said of Soeda. “He was returning really well, always pretty deep. I thought I served some good serves too but on game points he stuck in there and fought pretty well.”
Galarneau was a wildcard entry in the tournament and the only Canadian to reach the quarterfinals in men’s singles. The 19-year-old from Laval, Quebec defeated No. 3 seed Michael Mmoh of the United States 6-7, 6-1, 6-1 Thursday, a win Galarneau called “probably the biggest” of his career.
“I competed really hard,” Galarneau said of his victory over Mmoh. “The conditions were hard. I just played one point at a time and stayed solid.”
Galarneau plays on the North Carolina State Wolfpack tennis team. In this sophomore season (2017-18) he became the first men’s tennis player from North Carolina State to ever reach the quarterfinals of the ITA All-American Championships.
Galarneau reached the men’s singles final at the Canada F4 Futures in Kelowna (June 25-July 1). A week earlier he teamed up with Benjamin Sigouin to win the men’s doubles title at the Canada F3 Futures in Calgary.
“The summer season’s going well so hopefully I can keep it up,” said Galarneau.
Soeda’s win over Galarneau at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger sets up a semifinal meeting with Lucas Miedler of Austria. Miedler beat Japan’s Kaichi Uchida 7-6, 6-4 Friday, a day after sidelining No. 1 seed Peter Polanksy of Canada.
Granollers Moves Into Semis
No. 2 seed Marcel Granollers of Spain earned a 6-4, 6-1 quarterfinal win over Denmark’s Mikael Torpegaard on Stadium Court Friday. His semifinal opponent will be Australia’s Jason Kubler, who defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland 6-2, 6-3.
Granollers has yet to drop a set in six total matches at the Winnipeg National Bank Challenger. He’s playing men’s doubles with his brother Gerard and they beat the Australian duo of Kubler/Bradley Mousley 6-4, 7-6 in a semifinal match Friday.
Saturday Challenger Schedule
The women’s singles semifinals matches will be played at 10 am, with Rebecca Marino playing Victoria Rodriguez and Julia Glusho meeting Maddison Inglis. The first men’s singles semifinal on Stadium Court (following the women’s match) will feature Marcel Granollers vs. Jason Kubler with the Lucas Miedler vs. Go Soeda semifinal to follow.
Saturday will also feature the men’s and women’s doubles finals.
View tournament draws and Order of Play:
http://winnipeg.nationalbankchallenger.com/draws-schedule/
Tournament Photo Galleries
View Day 7 tournament photos by David Mahussier of 1812 Photography:
http://winnipeg.nationalbankchallenger.com/gallery
