Canadians Duncan Chan and Alexis Galarneau saw their remarkable journey in the doubles competition come to an end with a quarterfinal defeat, falling 6-2, 6-4 to Croatia’s Mate Pavic and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo.
Pavic and Arevalo, the number three seeds in Montreal, demonstrated remarkable prowess by converting 88% of their total service points.
“They were exceptional at the net,” remarked Chan. “We had some solid looks on our returns, but every time we managed to get it back on our strings, they countered brilliantly. We executed good low returns, yet they consistently sent it off the court.”
The reigning champions of the 2024 French Open will now face either the French duo Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti or Russia’s Daniil Medvedev paired with Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in the semifinals, a match temporarily halted due to rain while the French team was leading a set.
Hailing from Markham, Ontario, Chan and Galarneau from Laval, Quebec, faced a tough outing, unable to secure any break point opportunities against their formidable opponents while conceding three breaks on 11 chances.
“I think they had the advantage of scouting our previous matches,” Galarneau noted. “The conditions on Centre Court were quite different. We felt the wind more acutely, and the pace of play was slower. Personally, I struggled to find my rhythm on returns.
“Whenever they had an opportunity to hit their volleys and close out the points, they capitalized. That was the key difference today, as we had fewer chances to make our mark.”
The Canadian wild cards had previously triumphed over German star Alex Zverev and Brazil’s Marcelo Melo in the opening round and created a buzz by toppling eighth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert from France and Germany’s Kevin Krawietz in the second round.
