Abanda impressive in debut
GRANBY – Over the years, the Granby Challenger has served as a launching pad for a number of future stars and the latest may be Montrealer Françoise Abanda.
The 15-year-old made an impressive debut on the ITF Women’s Circuit Tuesday night as she beat American Jennifer Elie 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the opening round of the $25,000 National Bank Challenger women’s tennis tournament.
“It was my first-ever pro tournament, but I wasn’t nervous,” Abanda said. “I think it helped that I was playing at home. I started playing well in the first set, but then she started playing better.”
Abanda regained control with an early break in the third set and showed her mettle when she fought off five break points and held for a 5-3 lead.
Genie Bouchard of Westmount grabbed the headlines earlier this month at Wimbledon when she swept the junior women’s singles and doubles titles, but Abanda turned in an impressive performance by reaching the semifinals.
“I want to play more ITF women’s events so that I can get a ranking,” said Abanda, who must play at least three events before earning a spot in the WTA rankings.
Laval’s Stéphanie Dubois, the top seed and defending champion in the women’s event, cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 win over Miki Miyamura of Japan.
Gabriela Dabrowski of Ottawa, a former Canadian junior champion, also advanced when third-seeded Victoria Larrière of France retired with a shoulder injury after falling behind 7-5, 3-0. But junior Erin Routliffe of Caledon, Ont., lost to Poland’s Justyna Jegiolka 6-4, 7-5.
In the $50,000 men’s event, third-seeded Frank Dancevic of Niagara Falls, Ont., crushed Riccardo Ghedin of Italy for his first win since he suffered a back injury in April.
“I didn’t think I would play this well,” said the 27-year-old Dancevic.
Dancevic, who has a history of back problems, said his latest injury was related to his success earlier in the season. He was eyeing a return to the top 100 when his back gave out when he was playing American Tim Smyczek in the final of a $50,000 challenger in Tallahassee, Fla.
“I played 14 matches in three weeks and it was too much,” Dancevic said. “It was frustrating because I was playing well. I won in Dallas, qualified for the main draw at Indian Wells and won a round and then reached the final in Florida.”
Dancevic tried to play through the injury, but had to quit during first-round matches at the French Open and on the grass at London’s Queen’s Club.
Dancevic arrived at No. 132 on the ATP Tour and has what should be a winnable second-round match against fellow Canadian Philip Bester of Vancouver. Bester, who has dropped to No. 894, is a former Davis Cup player and has been around so long that it’s easy to forget he’s only 23 years old. He showed some of the promise of his teen years as he rallied to beat Japan’s Toshihide Matsui 4-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Kirkland’s Erik Chvojka wasn’t as fortunate. The seventh seed was upset by Charles Antoine Brezac of France 6-4, 7-5.
Rain delayed the start of play and there was another three-hour delay in the afternoon.
That forced organizers to reschedule several matches and Wimbledon junior champions Bouchard and Filip Peliwo had their first-round matches put over to the evening session Wednesday.