Nash Cup: Canadian Double On the Cards in Ontario

A Canadian double remains on the cards in Ontario, where Hollie Naughton and David Baillargeon are both into the Nash Cup finals. 

Top seed Naughton saw off Colombia’s Laura Tovar in the first of two women’s semi-finals, coming through 3-0 in exactly half an hour. 

The Canadian will now take on No.4 seed Salma Eltayeb for the trophy, with the Egyptian teenager also having taken 30 minutes to get through her semi-final, beating American Marina Stefanoni 3-0. 

Naughton will go into that match as overwhelming favourite, sitting 33 places above her opponent in the world rankings, but the same cannot be said for her compatriot Baillargeon. 

Baillargeon and his opponent in the men’s final, Faraz Khan, are seeded three and four and separated by just two places in the world rankings, sitting at No.52 and No.54 respectively. 

Both have come through five-game battles to reach this stage, with the Canadian going the distance in both his quarter-final and semi-final matches, the latter of which lasted more than an hour as he edged past Curtis Malik. 

Khan enjoyed comfortable wins at those two stages, but he was almost knocked out in round two, saving five match points in a breathtaking encounter with France’s Edwin Clain.

You can watch the Nash Cup finals live here.

Results: Men’s Semi-Finals

[4] Faraz Khan (USA) v [7] Bernat Jaume (ESP) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-9 (40m) 

[3] David Baillargeon (CAN) [5] Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-2: 11-6, 7-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-8 (64m)

Draw: Men’s Final

[4] Faraz Khan (USA) v [3] David Baillargeon (CAN)

Results: Women’s Semi-Finals

[1] Hollie Naughton (CAN) v Laura Tovar (COL) 3-0: 11-4, 13-11, 11-7 (30m) 

[4] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) v [5] Marina Stefanoni (USA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-9 (30m)

Draw: Women’s Final

[1] Hollie Naughton (CAN) v [4] Salma Eltayeb (EGY)