Top seeds Alexander Zverev, Coco Gauff advance at Canadian Open
World number three Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best but emerged with a 7-6(6) 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto.
Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev's favour when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak, and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set.
"It was a very important moment, very important point for me," Zverev said. "Lucky to get through in the first set and finish it off in two."
Zverez said he did not play his "prettiest" match but was proud of how he battled after taking a break from the game following his early Wimbledon exit.
"I took some time off, which I needed also for myself. I'm happy to be playing again," he added.
Zverev next plays 32nd seed Matteo Arnaldi on Thursday.
On the women's side, top seed Gauff was two points from defeat but battled back to beat fellow American Danielle Collins 7-5 4-6 7-6(2) in a nearly three-hour battle to reach the third round.
French Open champion Gauff overcame 23 double faults and 74 unforced errors to beat Collins in their first career meeting.
"I was practicing well and I don't think I transferred it today, but hopefully I got my bad match of the tournament out of the way," Gauff said.
Several top players withdrew ahead of the Masters and WTA 1000 tournament including world number ones Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper.
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The National
6 hours ago
- The National
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Gulf Today
a day ago
- Gulf Today
Holder Pegula sent packing by Sevastova, Swiatek through; Fritz ends Canadian hopes with Diallo romp
Twice defending champion Jessica Pegula crashed out of the Canadian Open after losing to Anastasija Sevastova 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the third round on Friday, while six-times major winner Iga Swiatek marched on with a dominant 6-2 6-2 win over Eva Lys. The 35-year-old Sevastova, ranked 386 in the world, will next face four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who took out Latvian 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-4. 'I don't know,' Sevastova said after upsetting third seed Pegula. 'Somehow, I was down 2-0 in the second set and started to play better and better. Third set, I played really good. Just trying to stay on the court as long as possible.' Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova, seeded fifth in Montreal, carved out a comfortable win over Emma Raducanu, beating the 2021 US Open champion 6-2 6-1. Iga Swiatek hits a return in Montreal on Friday. AP Anisimova's win over Raducanu is her first, having lost their previous two encounters. She will next face Ukrainian 10th seed Elina Svitolina. In the men's draw, American second seed Taylor Fritz made light work of local hope Gabriel Diallo, beating the 27th seed 6-4 6-2. Fritz, who is eyeing a third title of the season after triumphs in Eastbourne and Stuttgart, will next take on Czech 19th seed Jiri Lehecka. 'Even the games that I didn't serve my best in, I felt like I backed it up really well from the baseline, so I'm happy with that,' Fritz said. American fourth seed Ben Shelton, however, was made to work hard by countryman Brandon Nakashima before managing a 6-7(8) 6-2 7-6(5) win. 'It was back and forth,' Shelton said. 'There were a lot of huge moments, like being able to break back after getting broken in my first service game of the third set. I feel like I showed a lot of perseverance tonight.' Next up for Shelton is Italian 13th seed Flavio Cobolli. Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz ended Canadian hopes at the ATP Toronto Masters on Friday as he crushed Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round. Taylor Fritz hits a ball to Gabriel Diallo during their third round match at the Tornto Masters. Reuters The American second seed needed just 77 minutes to dispatch the the 37th-ranked local and book a meeting with Jiri Lehecka, a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 winner over France's Arthur Fils. Fritz is aiming to at least reach the quarter-finals north of the border, the only Masters where he has not gone that far. He broke once in the opening set against a nervous opponent and dominated from there. 'It was important not to let him get into the match and get the crowd fired up,' Fritz said. 'I knew the momentum could shift at any time. 'I'm super happy with it, considering how I felt on the court two nights ago in my first match,' Fritz added. 'I felt way more comfortable, confident, just hitting the ball, being aggressive, just striking it. I did well to be up an early break in the sets. I did well to just hold. 'Played really solid from the baseline as well. I backed it up well from the ground, and just did a good job of not letting him back in the sets.' Brandon Nakashima won his first set against American Ben Shelton before the fourth-seeded Shelton rallied to finish off a 6-7 (8/10), 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) win. Shelton had trailed by a break in the deciding set and Nakashima saved four match points before Shelton sealed the victory with his 19th ace. Shelton finished with 46 winners to improve to 5-0 against Nakashima and will fight for a quarter-final berth against Flavio Cobolli, who downed Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. 'I've got to find my fire from somewhere,' Shelton said of the late-night crowd support in Canada. 'I live off of that. 'Night matches are never easy, the temperature cools down and conditions are different. I showed a lot of perseverance. it's difficult being down against a big server. To come from behind takes a bit of luck.' The seeded pair of Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe were tested over three sets before also making their way into the fourth round. Agencies
Dubai Eye
2 days ago
- Dubai Eye
Pegula sent packing, Swiatek through at Canadian Open
Twice defending champion Jessica Pegula crashed out of the Canadian Open after losing to Anastasija Sevastova 3-6 6-4 6-1 in the third round on Friday, while six-times major winner Iga Swiatek marched on with a dominant 6-2 6-2 win over Eva Lys. The 35-year-old Sevastova, ranked 386 in the world, will next face four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, who took out Latvian 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-4. "I don't know," Sevastova said after upsetting third seed Pegula. "Somehow, I was down 2-0 in the second set and started to play better and better. Third set, I played really good. Just trying to stay on the court as long as possible." Wimbledon runner-up Amanda Anisimova, seeded fifth in Montreal, carved out a comfortable win over Emma Raducanu, beating the 2021 U.S. Open champion 6-2 6-1. Anisimova's win over Raducanu is her first, having lost their previous two encounters. She will next face Ukrainian 10th seed Elina Svitolina. In the men's draw, American second seed Taylor Fritz made light work of local hope Gabriel Diallo, beating the 27th seed 6-4 6-2. Fritz, who is eyeing a third title of the season after triumphs in Eastbourne and Stuttgart, will next take on Czech 19th seed Jiri Lehecka. "Even the games that I didn't serve my best in, I felt like I backed it up really well from the baseline, so I'm happy with that," Fritz said. American fourth seed Ben Shelton, however, was made to work hard by countryman Brandon Nakashima before managing a 6-7(8) 6-2 7-6(5) win. "It was back and forth," Shelton said. "There were a lot of huge moments, like being able to break back after getting broken in my first service game of the third set. I feel like I showed a lot of perseverance tonight." Next up for Shelton is Italian 13th seed Flavio Cobolli.
