Bouchard, Sharapova granted wild-card berths for Rogers Cup in Toronto
There was an ironic twist Tuesday as Tennis Canada announced the wild-card berths for next week’s Rogers Cup events in Montreal and Toronto.
The organizers in Toronto decided to give free passes to Westmount’s Eugenie Bouchard and former No. 1 Maria Sharapova, two players who are not on speaking terms these days. Bouchard has been critical of Sharapova’s return to pro tennis after a 16-month doping ban and one of the few bright spots on the Canadian’s resumé this year was a win over Sharapova in Madrid. Both players needed free passes to the 56-woman field because they have fallen on hard times. Bouchard has dropped to No. 73 in the WTA rankings, while Sharapova checks in at No. 171. The Russian, who was once a role model for Bouchard, started from scratch after returning from her suspension and experienced another setback when she suffered a hip injury in Rome, which kept her from playing in the French Open and Wimbledon. She returned to the tour this week in California.
Montrealer Françoise Abanda, who is No. 131, received the other wild card for the Toronto event.
There were four wild cards available for the men’s events in Montreal. Tournament director Eugene Lapierre previously announced that Vasek Pospisil and teenagers Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime would receive wild cards, but Auger-Aliassime has withdrawn because of a wrist injury.
That opens the door for Torontonians Peter Polansky and Brayden Schnur, who are coming off strong performances in the Granby Challengers. Polansky reached his third consecutive Challenger final and is a career-high No. 115. Schnur lost in the semifinals at Granby but is at a career-high No. 194. Milos Raonic is the lone Canadian to qualify for the main draw and is the ninth seed.
World No. 3 Roger Federer confirmed Tuesday that he will play in Montreal, his first trip here since 2011. “I’m happy to be coming back to Montreal, as I have not had the chance to play there for many years,” Federer said in a release from Tennis Canada.
Wild cards were also awarded for the qualifying events, which begin Saturday. On the men’s side, junior Benjamin Sigouin, former world No. 1 junior Filip Peliwo and veterans Frank Dancevic and Philip Bester were awarded wild cards. It will be the Rogers Cup swansong for the 29-year-old Bester, who announced his retirement last week at Granby. He will play his final tournament, a $100,000 Challenger, in his hometown of North Vancouver this month.
Montreal veteran Alexandra Wozniak received a wild card for the women’s qualifying. Other wild cards went to French Open mixed doubles champion Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa and juniors Bianca Vanessa Andreescu of Mississauga and Katherine Sebov of Toronto.
There is free admission to the Jarry Park grounds for practices Friday and the qualifying matches Saturday and Sunday. The main draw begins on Monday.