Swiatek upset at NBO; Keys, Osaka, Tauson advance to quarterfinals

Globe and Mail

2 days ago

Iga Swiatek's National Bank Open has come to an end in the fourth round.
The world's third-ranked player and reigning Wimbledon champion fell in straight sets 7-6 (1), 6-3 to Denmark's Clara Tauson on a cool and windy Sunday night at Montreal's IGA Stadium.
Swiatek, who had lost just eight combined games through her opening two matches of the tournament, was eliminated one night after top seed Coco Gauff's premature exit to Canadian Victoria Mboko, also in the fourth round.
After her upset win over Gauff, Mboko is the headliner in Montreal NBO
It was Tauson's first win in four career meetings with Swiatek. The Poland tennis star most notably beat her in the fourth round at Wimbledon last month on her way to the championship.
Tauson, the world No. 19 and 16th seed in Montreal, has yet to drop a set in the tournament. She converted on three of her five break point opportunities, while saving seven of the nine break points she faced.
She advances to the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 tournament for just the second time in her career. The Dane made it to the finals of this year's Dubai Tennis Championships, losing to Mirra Andreeva in straight sets.
Swiatek was broken early in the first set, but managed to get the break back to force a first-set tiebreak. Tauson took advantage of a powering serve and repeated unforced errors from Swiatek to dominate the tiebreak 7-1.
A visibly frustrated Swiatek stopped to speak with her coach on her way off to the locker room following that first set.
Her frustration was not quelled upon her return for the second set. Swiatek was broken in the fourth game of the set to fall behind 3-1.
The six-time Grand Slam champion would break back in the seventh game, but immediately coughed the break up the following game on a double fault.
Tauson held serve at 5-3 to secure the win and her spot in the quarterfinals.
Tauson will next play American Madison Keys on Tuesday. The sixth-seed rebounded from a one-set deficit to beat Czechia's Karolina Muchova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 earlier Sunday.
'Clara's a fantastic ball striker,' said Keys. 'She's got a big serve. She's got a lot of power on both sides.
'She covers the court quite well on top of everything, so I feel like she's one of those matches where you kind of have to temper a little bit and not go for things too quickly.'
Keys, a runner-up at the 2016 tournament in Montreal, matched Ana Ivanovic for the longest gap between quarterfinal appearances at the event in the Open Era. Keys had not made it past the second round in Canada since losing to Simona Halep in that final nine years ago.
The win also gave Keys her 75th career win against a player ranked inside the top 20 of the WTA rankings.
After squandering a breakpoint opportunity of her own in just the second game of the match, Keys was broken at love the following game to fall behind 2-1.
While breaks of serve were exchanged in the sixth and seventh games, that early break proved to be just enough for Muchova to take the opening set 6-4.
Keys bounced back in the second set. The 2025 Australian Open champion took advantage of an untimely double fault by Muchova, her first of the match, to break the Czech's service and pull ahead 3-1. Keys ultimately forced a decider, sealing the second set with a 172 km/h ace.
Despite opening the third and final set with a break of serve, there was plenty of adversity for Keys. After being broken back in the fourth game, Keys was forced to fend off a pair of match points in the 10th game.
This galvanized Keys, who broke the following game on her way to the win.
Japan's Naomi Osaka cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory in just 49 minutes over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova to also advance to the quarterfinals.
'I'm definitely really happy,' said Osaka. 'Today was obviously faster than I thought it would be, but I'm really happy with how the game plan went. I'm excited to play my next match.'
Osaka hit five aces, committed no double faults and was a perfect five-for-five on her break point opportunities. She is the first Japanese player in the Open Era to reach multiple quarterfinals at the tournament, also in 2019.
The former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion has been steadily working her way backup the rankings after missing the entire 2023 season while on maternity leave. Osaka, currently ranked 49th in the world, is expected to jump at least 15 more spots with the win.
'I talked to my dad and he said just being healthy and happy is a form of success,' said Osaka. 'I agree with that, but I want more.
'Of course, I would want to win Slams, I would want to be in top 10, but I think I need to pace myself and go for the mini goals. Eventually, they'll turn into the big goals.'
Osaka will face the winner of Sunday night's matchup between 2025 Wimbledon finalist and fifth seed Amanda Anisimova and Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, the tournament's 10th seed.
The National Bank Open continues until Thursday.