After Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov, it seemed only natural that yet another Canadian would find his way into the second round of Rogers Cup presented by National Bank at IGA Stadium.
Peter Polansky certainly gave Gaël Monfils (16)—the eventual winner of their three-set battle (6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3)—a run for his money.
Carried by the cheering crowd, the Canadian played masterfully. So much so that he ran off with the first set, hitting brilliant shots and dominating the tiebreaker.
Until 3-3 in the second, the dream was still alive. But a little slump led to two consecutive break points against Polansky and forced a third set.
By then, the writing was on the wall. Monfils regained the agility and accuracy he is known for and brought the tense two-hour battle to a close, earning five breaks (versus two for his opponent) and four aces (versus three).
En route to the second round, Monfils collected 102 points (versus 91 for Polansky).
