Iga Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon champion, faced a surprising defeat at the hands of Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the ongoing tournament in Montreal. Tauson avenged her earlier loss to Swiatek at Wimbledon, securing a spot in the quarter-finals with a score of 7-6 (7-1), 6-3. This upset follows the unexpected elimination of top seed Coco Gauff, who lost in straight sets to Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko.
Tauson demonstrated resilience and focus throughout the match, despite challenging windy conditions. In her on-court interview, she stated, “It’s tough conditions here with the wind but I tried my best to keep my head cool and keep working. Even though I got broken in the second set, I was feeling confident and I’m really happy about the win.” The match saw Swiatek struggling, as she managed to win only a single point in the first-set tiebreak, a result of a double fault by Tauson. Although Swiatek managed to break back to make it 4-3 in the second set, she was unable to maintain her service game, allowing Tauson to advance to face Madison Keys in the next round.
Osaka’s Comeback Continues
In a contrasting display of skill, former world No 1 Naomi Osaka exhibited glimpses of her previous dominance by defeating Anastasija Sevastova decisively, 6-1, 6-0. This victory marks Osaka’s first appearance in the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 event in 19 months, the last being in Doha in March 2024. Osaka, now working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who previously coached Swiatek, expressed satisfaction with her performance, stating, “I had a solid plan coming in here, and it happened to work out very well.” She will now face Elina Svitolina, who triumphed over Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-1.
In Toronto, fourth-seeded Ben Shelton showcased his determination by rallying to defeat 13th-seeded Flavio Cobolli, with a final score of 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1). Reflecting on his match, Shelton acknowledged the challenges he faced, saying, “Really difficult match. I was down and out, being a break down in the third, the way that he was playing. I gave myself a second chance and I did a good job with it.” Shelton’s next opponent will be ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur, who came through a competitive match against Frances Tiafoe, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time after Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was forced to retire from their match due to injury. The score at the time of retirement was 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (2-7), 3-0 in favor of Rublev. Meanwhile, second-seeded Taylor Fritz engaged in a thrilling late-night match against 19th-seeded Jiri Lehecka, ultimately winning 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5). This victory marks Fritz’s achievement of reaching the quarter-finals in every Masters 1000 event.
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