On a sweltering Saturday at the Aviva Centre in Toronto, the qualifying draw for the 2016 Rogers Cup presented by National Bank kicked off in fine style, with Canadian juniors Félix Auger-Aliassime, Benjamin Sigouin and Jack Mingiie Lin all making their Rogers Cup debut, while veterans Radek Stepanek and Tim Smyczek aimed for an elusive spot in the main draw. With 14 matches played on four courts, there was no shortage of action to be seen on the grounds of this massive sporting complex that plays host to the biggest professional tennis tournament in Canada.

Canadians Go 1-6 in First Round Qualifying; Bester the Lone Victor

It wasn’t an easy day for Canadians, who went 1-6 on day one of qualifying, with North Vancouver’s Philip Bester becoming the lone victor against one of his very own compatriots.

Bester, a German-born Canadian Vancouverite, benefited from the withdrawal of his opponent, top seed Yuichi Sugita, to defeat alternate Kelsey Stevenson 6-2, 6-2 in just 51 minutes. Breaking four times, the 27-year-old Canadian barely put a foot wrong on his own serve all match, winning an impressive 79% of the points when he stepped to the line. Bester will look to secure his place in his fifth Rogers Cup main draw Sunday when he takes on 12th-seeded Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez.

James Duckworth celebrates after defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime in the first round of qualifying at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao
James Duckworth celebrates after defeating Félix Auger-Aliassime in the first round of qualifying at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao

Elsewhere, Canadian juniors Benjamin Sigouin and Félix Auger-Aliassime both put forth valiant efforts in their respective qualifying matches, but were unable to get past their more experienced counterparts. First up was Sigouin, who fell 7-6(2), 6-4 to Gonzalez, before Auger-Aliassime lost 7-5, 7-6(3) to 14th seed James Duckworth. Unfortunately, despite competing exceptionally well with their much more experienced opponents, the Canadian wild cards were unable to make it count on the big points, especially in the business end of both sets where they admittedly had their chances to take the opening set, or force a decider.

On outer courts, Canadian wild cards Jack Mingjie Lin, Pavel Krainik and Christian Lakoseljac all suffered one-sided defeats in their respective first-round encounters as well, while Brayden Schnur, in his professional debut, was edged out by a resurgent Radek Stepanek in two tight sets, 6-4, 7-6(6).

Jack Mingjie Lin prepares to hit a serve during his first round qualifying match against Tim Smyczek at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao
Jack Mingjie Lin prepares to hit a serve during his first round qualifying match against Tim Smyczek at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao
 

Smyczek, Krajicek, McGee Also Victorious on Day One

While third-seeded Tim Smyczek, sixth-seeded German Mischa Zverev, and ninth-seeded American Jared Donaldson took care of proceedings against Lin, Krainik, and Lakoseljac, respectively, there was still plenty of tennis to be played around the grounds.

On Grandstand, the biggest stadium used for qualifying, eleventh seed Ryan Harrison proved too strong for Ireland’s Sam Barry in an impressive come-from-behind victory to edge out the Irish number one, 7-6(5), 7-5.

Austin Krajicek celebrates after winning a point during his first round qualifying match against Michael Mmoh at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao
Austin Krajicek celebrates after winning a point during his first round qualifying match against Michael Mmoh at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao

In the last match of the day on Court 1, fifth seed Austin Krajicek put together a service masterclass to defeat fast-rising compatriot Michael Mmoh, 6-3, 7-6(3) in a high quality, 94-minute showcase of power and precision.

In arguably the match of the day, unseeded Irishman James McGee utilized his variety to record one of the upsets of the day, ousting the tenth seed and big-serving Aussie Sam Groth in three sets.

James McGee celebrates after winning a point during his first round qualifying match against Sam Groth at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao
James McGee celebrates after winning a point during his first round qualifying match against Sam Groth at the 2016 Rogers Cup. | Photo: Max Gao

Other winners on Saturday included the United States’ Dennis Novikov, India’s Saketh Myneni and Israeli’s Amir Weintraub, who were all able to overturn a deficit at some point in their respective encounters to put themselves within one match of securing a spot in the 64-player main draw.

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About the author
Max Gao
Max Gao is a sports writer specializing in tennis and the Toronto Blue Jays, who has also written on the Rogers Cup website as a guest contributor in the past.