Iga Swiatek was the latest top player to suffer an upset loss in Montreal as the Wimbledon champion and tournament second seed fell 7-6(1) 6-3 to Dane Clara Tauson in the Canadian Open round of 16 on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Tauson used her creativity and firepower to frustrate the six-time Grand Slam champion from Poland, staying calm when she was broken in the second set and sealing the win when Swiatek’s backhand landed in the net.
“It’s tough conditions here with the wind but I tried my best to keep my head cool and keep working,” Tauson said in her on-court interview.
“Even though I got broken in the second set, I was feeling confident and I’m really happy about the win.”
Swiatek’s loss came a day after top seed Coco Gauff was stunned in straight sets by Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, and both Swiatek and Gauff will look to sharpen their games ahead of the start of the U.S. Open later this month.
World number one and U.S. Open defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is not competing in Montreal.
Tauson, seeded 16th, will face Madison Keys in the quarterfinals after the big-serving American saved two match points to emerge with a hard-fought 4-6 6-3 7-5 win over Czech Karolina Muchova.
Tauson beat Keys in their only previous meeting in Auckland in January. Keys went on to capture her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open later that month.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka showed flashes of her past dominance to reach the quarterfinals, needing just 49 minutes to steamroll Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-0.
It marks the first time the Japanese player has advanced to the last eight of a WTA 1000 event in 19 months, which came in Doha in 2024.
“I had a solid plan coming in here, and it happened to work out very well,” Osaka said in her on-court interview.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka will face either American Amanda Anisimova or Ukrainian Elina Svitolina for a place in the semis.
DE MINAUR BEATS TIAFOE
On the men’s side of the tournament, which is being played in Toronto, Alex de Minaur used his speedy defense to edge American Frances Tiafoe 6-2 4-6 6-4.
The ninth-seeded Australian, who is coming off a victory at the ATP 500 Washington Open last week and who is in search of his first Masters 1000 title, will next face American Ben Shelton, who beat Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-4 4-6 7-6(1).
“It was never going to be easy and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away,” De Minaur said.
“I think I battled him, myself, and the conditions and I am happy to sneak away with a win today.”
Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time after Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was forced to retire from the match with an injury while trailing 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 3-0.
Second-seeded American Taylor Fritz will battle 19th-seeded Czech player Jiri Lehecka later in the evening.
-Reuters
