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Winnipeg Free Press
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Canada's Stakusic bows out of NBO with first-round loss to Cristian
MONTREAL – Canada's Marina Stakusic put up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell to Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the National Bank Open on Sunday. The 142nd-ranked Stakusic, in her fourth appearance at the NBO, was making her main draw debut in Montreal after bowing out in the second round of last year's tournament, held in Toronto. The 20-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., got off to a strong start, breaking Cristian in the Romanian's very first service game to go up 2-0 in the opening set. The Canadian broke her opponent again in the eighth game to take the opening set 6-2. Cristian wasted little time, however, getting on the board in the second set, breaking Stakusic at love in the opening game. The Romanian, currently ranked a career-high 49th in the WTA rankings, would go on to break her opponent twice more as she evened the match at a set apiece. The third set played out almost identically to that of the second, with Cristian taking the opening game on Stakusic's serve. The Bucharest native then broke twice more on her way to her first-ever win in her first career appearance at the NBO. Cristian will now play Czechia's Linda Noskova in the second round. Noskova, the 20th seed of the tournament, is coming off a runner-up finish at the Prague Open, where she lost Saturday to compatriot Marie Bouzkova in three sets. Stakusic set the table for what promises to be a busy day for Canadians on Montreal's Centre Court. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. Highly-touted 18-year-old Victoria Mboko is set to make her main draw debut at the National Bank Open later this afternoon against Australia's Kimberly Birrell. Toronto's Mboko has had a breakout 2025 season on tour, qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon, where she reached the third and second round, respectively. Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., will open up the night session against two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova. The 25-year-old Canadian, who won the NBO in Toronto in 2019, is coming off a strong showing at the Hopman Cup last week in Italy, as she teamed up with Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime to capture the exhibition team tournament. Andreescu won all three of her singles matches in straight sets, dropping only nine games at the competition. Action concludes on Centre Court with Vancouver's Rebecca Marino taking on French qualifier Elsa Jacquemot. The 34-year-old Marino has struggled this season, winning just one WTA Tour-level match all season. Sunday marks the start of a revamped 12-day, 96-player format, which will notably see the top 32 seeds receive automatic byes into the tournament's second round. Action continues daily at IGA Stadium through until the final, set for Aug. 7. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
27-07-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Canada's Stakusic bows out of NBO with first-round loss to Cristian
MONTREAL - Canada's Marina Stakusic put up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell to Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round of the National Bank Open on Sunday. The 142nd-ranked Stakusic, in her fourth appearance at the NBO, was making her main draw debut in Montreal after bowing out in the second round of last year's tournament, held in Toronto. The 20-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., got off to a strong start, breaking Cristian in the Romanian's very first service game to go up 2-0 in the opening set. The Canadian broke her opponent again in the eighth game to take the opening set 6-2. Cristian wasted little time, however, getting on the board in the second set, breaking Stakusic at love in the opening game. The Romanian, currently ranked a career-high 49th in the WTA rankings, would go on to break her opponent twice more as she evened the match at a set apiece. The third set played out almost identically to that of the second, with Cristian taking the opening game on Stakusic's serve. The Bucharest native then broke twice more on her way to her first-ever win in her first career appearance at the NBO. Cristian will now play Czechia's Linda Noskova in the second round. Noskova, the 20th seed of the tournament, is coming off a runner-up finish at the Prague Open, where she lost Saturday to compatriot Marie Bouzkova in three sets. Stakusic set the table for what promises to be a busy day for Canadians on Montreal's Centre Court. Highly-touted 18-year-old Victoria Mboko is set to make her main draw debut at the National Bank Open later this afternoon against Australia's Kimberly Birrell. Toronto's Mboko has had a breakout 2025 season on tour, qualifying for both the French Open and Wimbledon, where she reached the third and second round, respectively. Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., will open up the night session against two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova. The 25-year-old Canadian, who won the NBO in Toronto in 2019, is coming off a strong showing at the Hopman Cup last week in Italy, as she teamed up with Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime to capture the exhibition team tournament. Andreescu won all three of her singles matches in straight sets, dropping only nine games at the competition. Action concludes on Centre Court with Vancouver's Rebecca Marino taking on French qualifier Elsa Jacquemot. The 34-year-old Marino has struggled this season, winning just one WTA Tour-level match all season. Sunday marks the start of a revamped 12-day, 96-player format, which will notably see the top 32 seeds receive automatic byes into the tournament's second round. Action continues daily at IGA Stadium through until the final, set for Aug. 7. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2025. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Who is Aleksander Barkov's girlfriend? Exploring the Florida Panthers star player's personal life
Who is Aleksander Barkov's girlfriend? Exploring the Florida Panthers star player's personal life (Image Source: Getty) The Florida Panthers are back in the game by leading the NHL Finals series by 2-1. The NHL Finals Game 3 saw how dominating of a team the Panthers can be as they won the game with a 6-1 score. Though the entire team is phenomenal, the majority of the credit goes to their captain Aleksander Barkov who keeps them on track. The Finnish player is one of the most disciplined and private persons in the NHL and is known for keeping his personal and professional life separate. It was only last year when Barkov publicly admitted that he is no longer single. Who is the captain's girlfriend? Who is Aleksander Barkov dating? Aleksander Barkov is dating the tennis star Marie Bouzkova. The Florida Panthers' captain was seen in Wimbledon in 2024, supporting Bouzkova during her doubles match. Aleksander Barkov's girlfriend, tennis player Marie Bouzkova (Image Source: Getty) The star couple have kept their personal life extremely private from the eyes of the media for which not much can be said about their relationship. It was in 2024 that both made it official that they are together. Both Barkov and Bouzkova do not post about their personal life much on social media, due to which nothing can be deduced of their relationship. When did Aleksander Barkov and Marie Bouzkova meet? The exact timeline of when Barkov met the tennis sensation is not known, thanks to both players keeping it low-key private. However, it can be said that they might have met through their common love for tennis. Since it is well known that the Panthers' star player loves tennis and has played with Sebastian Korda and John Isner, it can be deduced that Barkov met his girlfriend on the tennis court. It was in 2024 when Barkov attended Wimbledon and was interviewed by Tennis Channel, where he admitted that he is there to support his girlfriend. Marie Bouzkova's achievements Marie Bouzkova is a tennis player from Prague, Czech Republic. She has been playing professional tennis since 2013. Bouzkova made her first professional tennis appearance in the Katowice Open of the WTA tour and has played several games since then. She won the singles title in 2022 during the Prague Open, which is her career-first singles title. She currently has a singles ranking of No. 24. Apart from that, Bouzkova has also won five doubles titles and made her way to two WTA singles finals in 2024. She has a doubles ranking of No.15. She was last seen at the French Open, in 2025. Also Read: Sam Bennett's future in Florida uncertain: Panthers playoff star may walk after Stanley Cup run
