Sizzling Naomi Osaka to face Clara Tauson in WTA Canadian Open semis
Naomi Osaka returns the ball to Elina Svitolina during their match at the WTA Canadian Open.
MONTREAL – Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka was having 'a lot of fun' as she advanced to the semi-finals of the WTA Canadian Open on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over 10th seed Elina Svitolina.
The Japanese, chasing her first WTA Tour-level title since the 2021 Australian Open, needed only 68 minutes to dispatch the Ukraine star and book a Wednesday semi-final with Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson, who stunned reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4.
'I'm just having a lot of fun playing. I'm glad to be here,' Osaka said. 'I think I'll be seeded in the US Open because I won my match. That was a really good goal for me. I'm just really excited.'
Tauson, meanwhile, dedicated her victory to her late grandfather, who died on Sunday as the Dane was dispatching Polish second seed Iga Swiatek, who won her sixth Grand Slam title last month at Wimbledon.
'Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away so I really wanted to win for him today,' a tearful Tauson said after beating US sixth seed Keys.
'I was told the day after I beat Iga so I really wanted to come out and show my best tennis for him. Hopefully he's watching.'
The US Open hardcourt tuneup in Montreal is the first event where Tauson has beaten two top-10 foes, with Swiatek and Keys exiting at her hand.
Tauson dominated the opening set and took full advantage of Keys giving up a break on a double fault to open the second.
The Dane won 12 of 19 points on her second serves and kept Keys at bay most of the night.
Keys joined a scrap heap of Montreal seeds, with the top five seeds and seven of the top 10 seeds ousted before the quarter-finals.
Tauson, 22, seeks her fourth career WTA title after the 2021 Lyon and Luxenbourg Opens and this year's Auckland Open, where Osaka retired after winning the first set of the final in their only WTA meeting.
'She's really tough,' Osaka said of Tauson. 'I played her in Auckland this year. I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So I'm really excited that I'm healthy.'
Osaka seeks her eighth WTA-level title, and her first since a maternity leave comeback last year. She last won a WTA-level title below the Grand Slams at the 2019 China Open.
She broke for a 3-1 edge in the opening set and exchanged breaks in the last three games to capture the set after 38 minutes, then cruised through the second set, taking the triumph when Svitolina hit a forehand wide.
Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, and 18-year-old Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko will meet in Wednesday's other semi-final.
Rybakina won their only prior meeting 6-3, 7-5 last month in the second round at Washington.
In men's tennis, US second seed Taylor Fritz overcame a late niggle while serving for the match to beat Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) and reach the ATP Toronto Masters semi-finals.
The American claimed his place in a fifth semi-final of the season after losing serve while trying to close out what had been looking like a quick win, finally coming through into the last four at this level for the first time after 83 minutes.
Fritz admitted he was struck by brain freeze as he served for victory leading a set and 5-4.
'That game was so shaky for me, we had both been holding serve easily, everything felt calm and chill,' he said. 'It came out of nowhere, the pressure of that game. It was tight and my brain just turned off.
He will next take on compatriot Ben Shelton, who beat Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 6-4. AFP, REUTERS
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