It’s been quite a start to 2019 for Canadian tennis players.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights heading into the BNP Paribas Open, a top-level event (just below Grand Slams), for women and men starting Wednesday in Indian Wells, Calif. The ages and hometowns of players are listed beside their names:
Leylah Annie Fernandez, 16, Montreal
— Reached junior girls final at the Australian Open on Jan. 26.
Bianca Andreescu, 18, Mississauga, Ont.
— Made final of ASB Classic in New Zealand on Jan. 6, after beating former world No. 1s Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
— Captured title at Oracle Challenger WTA 125 event in Newport Beach, Calif., on Jan. 27.
— Reached career high of No. 60 in WTA rankings after advancing to semifinals at Mexican Open last week.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, 18, Montreal
— Notched decisive win for Canada in Davis Cup tie against host Slovakia on Feb. 2.
— Made final of Rio Open on Feb. 24 after wins over four players with better rankings.
— Reached career high of No. 58 in ATP rankings after advancing to quarterfinals of Brasil Open last week.
Denis Shapovalov, 19, Richmond Hill, Ont.
— Reached third round of Australian Open, taking one set off world No. 1 Novak Djokovic before losing.
— Won two matches for Canada in Davis Cup tie victory against host Slovakia Feb. 1-2.
Brayden Schnur, 23, Pickering, Ont.
— Reached final of Oracle Challenger men’s event.
— Reached final of New York Open, an ATP Tour 250 event, as a qualifier, dropping the third set of the championship match in a tiebreak against Reilly Opelka of the U.S. on Feb. 17.
Eugenie Bouchard, 25, Westmount, Que.
— Reached quarterfinals of ASB Classic, losing to eventual champ Julia Goerges of Germany in a third-set tiebreak.
— Won ASB Classic doubles title with American Sofia Kenin.
Milos Raonic, 28, Thornhill, Ont.
— Reached quarterfinals of Australian Open, highlighted by a win over then-No. 4 Alexander Zverev.
The Canadian Press
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