Two former members of the top 10 in world tennis, Italy’s Fabio Fognini and Belgium’s David Goffin, will take part in qualifiers for the National Bank Open at the IGA Stadium on August 6 and 7, the organization confirmed on Thursday.
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Both athletes will join a contingent of players who have had great times on the ATP Tour and are attempting to earn a spot in the main singles draw. Fognini and Goffin are 61st and 67th respectively, with the latter benefiting from good momentum having recently reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.
The Finn Emil Ruusuvuori (42nd) and the Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (68th) will also be part of the qualification.
The former was runner-up in Pune that year and semi-finalist in Melbourne, as well as reaching quarter-finals at the Munich and Queen’s Club London tournaments.
The Wimbledon crasher Denis Shapovalov from Ontario, the American Brandon Nakashima (49th) want to join the main draw as well as the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (47th).
“Of the various tournaments played on the international stage, ours is fortunate to be able to present a very high quality qualifying draw year after year,” said Eugène Lapierre, director of the Omnium Banque Nationale de Montreal.
“Personally, I always find it extraordinary that we can welcome players from the first weekend on, some of whom are at the forefront of other competitions. In the end, it’s our fans who come out on top, winners, as they get to experience exceptional tennis from start to finish of our tournament.
In addition, the qualification table is supplemented by later allocated passes.