Swiatek cruises, Osaka battles; Bouchard bids adieu to tennis
Switzerland's Belinda Bencic sent Bouchard into retirement with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 victory -- but not before the Canadian thrilled her hometown fans by seizing an early break in the third set.
Spectators were on their feet, trying to will Bouchard to another victory on the heels of her first-round triumph on Monday -- her first WTA win since 2023.
Iga Swiatek plays a forehand against Hanyu Guo. AFP
But Bencic won five of the last six games to vanquish Bouchard, who had announced earlier in July she would retire after a final appearance in her home tournament.
'I think it's so special to play my last match here in Montreal on this court in front of you guys,' a teary Bouchard said as she was honored on court after the match.
'I remember being a little kid sitting in these stands, hoping and dreaming that I would play on this court one day.
Bouchard, who rose as high as fifth in the world rankings, shot to prominence in 2014 when she reached the Wimbledon final and made semi-final runs at the Australian and French Opens.
But her career was hindered by injuries, including a concussion suffered in a locker room slip at the 2015 US Open and a shoulder injury that required surgery in 2021.
Iga Swiatek greets fans after defeating Guo Hanyu during second round tennis at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Montreal. AP
There was no drama for Poland's Swiatek, who breezed past Chinese qualifier Guo Hanyu 6-3, 6-1 in her first match since her crushing victory over Amanda Anisimova in the Wimbledon final.
Swiatek, seeded second, broke Guo's serve six times to book her spot in the third round.
It was much harder going for Japan's four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who saved two match points in a 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) 6-3 triumph over Liudmila Samsonova.
Naomi Osaka returns the ball to Ariana Arseneault in first round play at IGA Stadium.
Osaka, now working with Tomasz Wiktorowski after announcing on Monday she had split with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, surrendered early breaks in each of the first two sets.
Wimbledon quarter-finalist Samsonova served for the match at 5-4 in the second and led 40-15. The Russian fired a forehand long on her first match point and on her second a lackluster drop shot effort gave Osaka an opening and the Japanese star pounced.
Ariana Arseneault returns the ball to Naomi Osaka.
Samsonova's double fault on break point allowed Osaka to level the set, and after storming back from 5-2 down in the tiebreaker to force a third set Osaka took control early, breaking Samsonova twice on the way to a 4-1 lead.
Jessica Pegula, the two-time defending champion and third seed, saved five set points in the opening set on the way to a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Maria Sakkari of Greece.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys, the sixth seed, opened her campaign with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Laura Siegemund, avenging a third-round loss to the German at Wimbledon.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Taylor Fritz struggled with three rain delays and a stubborn Spanish opponent on Wednesday, pulling out a tight 7-5, 7-6 (7/1) win over Roberto Carballes Baena at the ATP Toronto Masters.
The second-round match was halted repeatedly by light rain, with the final 18-minute pause coming just as the second-set tiebreaker was about to start.
But Fritz, winner of Stuttgart and Eastbourne titles this season, quickly sprinted to victory before heavier rains were expected to set in.
The American was far from pleased with a win which was marred by 45 unforced errors and confessed that he has not yet felt on his game in Canada.
'Even in practice I'm having a hard time putting the ball into the court,' he said. 'But I'm happy to get through this one.
'Everything is not feeling great, it's tough to control the ball.
'Since I've been here it's been absolutely brutal. But I have another match to figure it out and hopefully I can play myself into the tournament.'
Agencies
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Etihad
7 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Football: German Mueller signs season-long deal with Vancouver Whitecaps
6 Aug 2025 23:07 (REUTERS)Former Germany and Bayern Munich forward Thomas Mueller has signed a season-long deal with Major League Soccer (MLS) side Vancouver Whitecaps, the Canadian club said on who turns 36 next month, decided to leave Bayern at the end of last season after 25 years with the German champions, helping them win 13 Bundesliga titles and two Champions League has signed for the rest of the 2025 season, with the club holding an option to keep him in 2026 as a Designated Player -- a status that allows MLS teams to pay top salaries outside the league's salary cap."I'm looking forward to coming to Vancouver to help this team win a championship," Mueller said in a statement. "I've heard great things about the city, but first and foremost I'm coming to win." "This is a statement signing by our club and our ownership-- a transformative moment for our club and our city. We are proud to welcome Thomas to Vancouver," Whitecaps CEO and sporting director Axel Schuster made 131 appearances for Germany, scoring 45 goals, and was instrumental in their 2014 World Cup triumph. He scored 250 goals and registered 276 assists from 756 appearances for Bayern across all playmaker helped Bayern reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals in the United States last month, where they lost to eventual runners-up Paris St Germain. Mueller is scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on August 13. Vancouver, who are second in the Western Conference, visit San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.
Al Etihad
7 hours ago
- Al Etihad
Tennis: US Open announces record $90 million prize money
6 Aug 2025 22:32 NEW YORK (REUTERS)The US Open announced $90 million in prize money will be on offer at this year's final major, marking the largest purse in tennis history, up 20% from players in the ATP and WTA called for more equitable distribution of revenue at the four Grand Slams this year, as those at the top of the game are able to benefit from increased prize money while players at the lower levels often US Open prize pool is up from $75 million in 2024, the previous highest-ever purse. Men's and women's singles winners will earn $5 million each, up from $3.6 million last tournament will also see double-digit percentage increases across all rounds in all events, after "years of a strategic focus on redistribution to the early rounds and qualifying tournament," organisers action at the US Open has been expanded to 15 days, amid booming attendance, and will take place from August 24 to September 7.A new format in the mixed doubles is being introduced this year, with the event featuring many big-name singles players as it will be taking place over two days in the week before the main competition kicks off at Flushing Meadows. US Open attendance topped one million fans for the first time in 2024.
Dubai Eye
18 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Osaka sails into Canadian Open semis, Shelton knocks out De Minaur
Four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka reached the semi-finals of the Canadian Open for the first time after beating Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-2 in the quarters on Tuesday, while Ben Shelton eliminated Alex de Minaur on the men's side. It marks Osaka's first WTA 1000 semi-final since Miami in 2022, as the Japanese former world number one needed just over an hour to secure victory over the 10th seeded Svitolina. Osaka capitalised on Svitolina's unforced errors to break twice and move within a game of taking the first set. Despite dropping serve while Svitolina threatened to shift the momentum, Osaka held her nerve, broke back and closed out the opener. The second set was more closely contested, but Osaka converted two more break points to seal the win in Montreal. The 27-year-old will next face Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson, who secured her second consecutive win over a top 10 opponent by defeating American sixth seed Madison Keys 6-1 6-4 to reach the semis having previously beaten six-times major winner Iga Swiatek. "I think for me, I'm just having a lot of fun playing and I'm really glad to be here," Osaka said. "She's (Tauson) really tough. I played her in Auckland this year and I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So, I'm really excited that I'm healthy and I hope that it's a good match for everyone that comes and watches." Tauson was clinical in the opening set against Keys, converting both of her break point opportunities and serving it out in just over half an hour. Australian Open champion Keys dropped serve again early in the second, leaving the 22-year-old Tauson on course for just the second WTA 1000 semi of her career. In the men's tournament in Toronto, American second seed Taylor Fritz advanced to the semis with a 6-3 7-6(4) victory over Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev. Wimbledon semi-finalist Fritz got off to a blistering start, winning six straight points and breaking his opponent's serve in his first return game. The 27-year-old maintained his momentum behind a dominant service performance and appeared poised to close out the match while serving at 5-4 in the second set. Rublev, however, mounted a comeback, saving a match point and converting his fourth break point to level the set before forcing a tiebreak, where Fritz finally secured the win. "That whole game was so shaky for me," Fritz said. "It's weird because he was holding easy, I was holding easy. It felt so like calm and chill and all of a sudden I'm serving to be in the semis, the pressure of the game came out of nowhere. "There's no way to sugarcoat it, it was a tight game. My brain kind of turned off. The only thing you can do is come back and win the set. I would be a lot more upset about what happened in the game if I lose the match. Winning makes it feel not as bad." Next up for Fritz is compatriot and fourth seed Shelton, who beat Australian ninth seed De Minaur 6-3 6-4 to reach his first career Masters 1000 semi-final.
