Golden day for Aussies as quartet earn Wimbledon spots
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Perth Now
19 hours ago
- Perth Now
Emotional final-four clash awaits Osaka in Montreal
Naomi Osaka has powered into her first National Bank Open semi-final, beating No.10 seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-2. Osaka advanced to face 16th seed Clara Tauson, who eliminated sixth-seeded Madison Keys 6-1 6-4 in the first quarter-final on Tuesday night. "Not my best performance out there today," said Keys, who won this year's Australian Open. "She played incredibly well, she served really well. It was just one of those things where I felt like I kept trying different things, and she was just beating me." Osaka, the four-time grand slam champion and former world No.1, continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the final in Miami in 2022. She stepped away from tennis for 15 months towards the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023. The native of Japan is seeking her eighth career title and her first since the 2021 Australian Open. Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko takes on ninth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the other semi on Wednesday. Mboko, the 18-year-old from Toronto who's playing in her first main draw in Montreal, has defeated five higher-ranked opponents en route to the last four, including top seed Coco Gauff. Tauson dedicated her victory to her grandfather, Peter, during an on-court interview at IGA Stadium. "I really wanted to win for him today," she told the crowd before breaking down in tears. "I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he's watching." Tauson, who is yet to drop a set all tournament, said she only found out about her grandfather's death on Monday, a day after she eliminated Wimbledon champion and No.3-ranked Iga Swiatek. "He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to almost every single practice from my school," the 22-year-old native of Denmark said. "It was tough news yesterday morning when I woke up, but I think it's for the better. He was not feeling great for a while."
7NEWS
a day ago
- 7NEWS
Clara Tauson learns of grandfather's death after win over world No.3 Iga Swiatek at Canadian Open
Denmark's rising tennis star Clara Tauson has revealed she was told her grandfather had died after her upset win over world No.3 Iga Swiatek in Montreal. Tauson, ranked 19th in the world, reached the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 triumph over Swiatek on Monday local time (Tuesday AEST) to set up a clash with Australian Open champion Madison Keys. Her strong run of form continued with a stunning 6-1 6-4 victory on Tuesday local time (Wednesday AEST), after which Tauson shared what she had been through in the 24 hours between matches. 'I'm still in shock,' Tauson said in her on-court interview. 'Two days ago my grandfather unfortunately passed away. I really wanted to win for him today.' The emotions spilled over and Tauson paused to wipe away tears, the crowd rallying around the 22-year-old with a loud ovation. 'Hopefully he's watching,' she said. 'I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him.' Tauson will play through the grief again in a semi-final on Wednesday (Thursday AEST). She won two WTA titles in 2021 but had to wait until January this year to claim her third, winning the Auckland Open. While trophies have been few and far between Tauson has risen from world No.50 at the start of the year to an expected career-high 15th after Montreal — and higher if she wins her semi-final and potential final. Ninth seed Elena Rybakina and Canadian teen sensation Victoria Mkobo will face off in the other semi-final on Wednesday (Thursday). On the men's side, Australian star Alex de Minaur will face American fourth seed Ben Shelton for a spot in the semis.
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
Teenage star Mboko continues giant-killing Montreal run
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko has advanced to her first career WTA Tour semi-final with a 6-4 6-2 win victory over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro at the National Bank Open. Two days after ousting No.1 seed Coco Gauff in just 62 minutes, there was no letdown for the 18-year-old from Toronto. After taking a back-and-forth - and error-filled - first set, Mboko was broken in a sluggish start to the second set but broke back in the fourth and sixth games to take a 4-2 advantage. Mboko is the first Canadian to reach the WTA 1000 event's semi-finals since Bianca Andreescu's title run in 2019. She's also the youngest woman to reach the semis since Belinda Bencic's 2015 win in Toronto. Mboko will face Elena Rybakina, who led Marta Kostyuk 6-1 2-1 when the Ukrainian was forced to stop playing because of an apparent arm injury. Rybakina, the No.9 seed from Kazakhstan, converted three of her 10 break-point chances in the quarter-final matchup at IGA Stadium. The players shook hands at the 54-minute mark before the 24th-seeded Kostyuk exited the court in tears. After the third game, Kostyu's trainers wrapped her forearm in medical tape. In a breakthrough year, Mboko has surged from outside the top 300 to a career-high No.85. That number is projected to climb to at least No.55, according to WTA live rankings. After two injury-plagued years, Mboko, who had shown promise as a junior, opened the season with a 22-match win streak and captured five titles on the lower-tier ITF Tour. She then qualified for her first grand slam main draw at the French Open, reaching the third round, before stunning 25th-seeded Magdalena Frech in the first round at Wimbledon. And the upsets keep coming. In Montreal, Mboko has rattled off wins over 79th-ranked Australian Kimberly Birrell, No.23 seed Sofia Kenin, 39th-ranked Marie Bouzkova and Gauff, who is ranked No. 2. Her latest victory boosted her record to 25-8 against higher-ranked players and 51-9 in all competitions. In the other quarter-finals on Tuesday, No.6 seed Madison Keys - the highest-seeded player remaining - faces No.16 Clara Tauson, and former No.1-ranked Naomi Osaka meets No.10 seed Elina Svitolina. The tournament final is on Thursday.
