Chan Stuns Gaston: No. 601 Debuts In Montreal

Duncan Chan defeated Hugo Gaston 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the final round of National Bank Open qualifying, securing the first ATP main draw of his career. The Canadian, ranked No. 601 in the world, eliminated a seeded player from the qualifying draw in two hours and five minutes, coming back from a set down against an opponent ranked 90th.

Chan was born in Markham, Ontario, and turned 21 on July 29, three days before the match. The No. 601 ranking he entered the draw with is his career-best, reached on July 27. Until Saturday, he had never played a main draw on the top-level tour.

The breakthrough follows a college season at TCU that earned him the ITA's Most Improved Player award for Division I: 23 wins and 9 losses in singles, 27 and 4 in doubles, with All-American status in both disciplines. The first professional signal had come earlier, in November 2025, when he reached the final of the Drummondville Challenger, losing to Estonia's Daniil Glinka.

The match against Gaston wasn't clean. Chan committed eight double faults and was broken four times, but he converted five of his thirteen break-point chances, and that's where the difference lies. Against a player who thrives on variation and broken rhythms like the Frenchman, the most effective way to stay in the match was to keep attacking his second serve: Chan did so even when his own serve wavered. The Montreal main draw begins Sunday, August 2.