Swiatek cruises, Bouchard says goodbye in Montreal
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.
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.
'I grew up playing on these courts, and courts all around Montreal and near here, so it feels like such a full circle moment to finish my career here.'
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.
Swiatek sails through
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.
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.
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.
'She definitely came out really hard and, for me, I was definitely overwhelmed and I didn't know if I should also be hitting winners,' Osaka said. 'After a while I just tried to keep the ball in court.'
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. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
2 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Sevastova topples Pegula to book date with Osaka, Swiatek advances
Australian Open champion Madison Keys to meet Karolina Muchova MONTREAL: Anastasija Sevastova stunned two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Friday to book a fourth-round clash with Naomi Osaka at the WTA Canadian Open. Sevastova, a former world No. 11 now ranked 386th, snapped fourth-ranked Pegula's 11-match WTA Canada win streak, the longest since Serena Williams reeled off 14 consecutive wins in 2011, 2013 and 2014. She will try to extend her Montreal run in a round of 16 meeting with Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan who ousted another Latvian, 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 6-4. 'Somehow, I was down 2-0 in the second set and started to play better and better,' Sevastova said. 'Third set I played really good. 'Just trying to stay on the court as long as possible,' added Sevastova, who has dealt with injury since returning from maternity leave in February 2024. In the night session, second-seeded Iga Swiatek—playing her first tournament since winning Wimbledon—raced into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Germany's Eva Lys. Swiatek next faces Denmark's Clara Tauson, who beat Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-3, 6-0. Pegula, last year's US Open runner-up in her best Slam showing, was the first woman to win back to back Canadian Open titles since Martina Hingis in 1999-2000. But she has struggled in recent months, dropping her openers at Wimbledon and at Washington last week. The American broke to open the match and again at love to claim the first set. But she couldn't maintain an early break in the second, with Sevastova breaking for a 5-4 lead and denying Pegula on three break chances before holding in the final game to force a third set in which she seized a 4-1 lead on the way to victory. 'Weird match' 'It was a weird match for me,' Pegula said. 'I felt like I had total control and then I just played a couple of terrible games for, like, three games. 'That totally flipped the momentum of the match, and I went from being up a set and 2-0 to being down very quickly. 'I don't really feel like I'm playing great tennis,' Pegula admitted. 'At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don't like. I've got to figure it out.' Osaka, twice a winner at both the US and Australian Opens, is one match away from her first quarter-final run at either a Grand Slam or WTA 1000 event since she returned from maternity leave at the start of 2024. Now ranked 49th, Osaka broke on a double fault to capture the first set in 30 minutes and raced to a 3-1 lead in the second. They exchanged breaks before Osaka served for the match with a 5-3 lead, but Ostapenko saved a match point on a forehand crosscourt winner and broke when Osaka sent a forehand beyond the baseline. The Japanese star responded by breaking Ostapenko at love in the final game. 'I went in there knowing she's a great player and if I give her a chance she's going to hit a winner on me, so I just tried to keep my pace and stay as solid as I could,' Osaka said. Australian Open champion Madison Keys, seeded sixth, beat fellow American Caty McNally 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and will next meet Karolina Muchova, a 6-7 (2/7), 6-2, 6-3 winner over Belinda Bencic. Fifth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, regrouping this week after a crushing 6-0, 6-0 loss to Swiatek in the Wimbledon final, swept past Britain's Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-1. She lined up a meeting with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who beat Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-1. – AFP
Kuwait Times
12 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Marchand adds gold to world record as McIntosh wins again
Popovici ready to hit the beach after world swim sprint double SINGAPORE: Swimming superstar Leon Marchand won 200m individual medley world gold on Thursday to go with his record as untouchable Summer McIntosh clinched a third title in Singapore. The 23-year-old Frenchman Marchand embellished his status as the biggest thing in men's swimming on Wednesday by obliterating Ryan Lochte's world record that had stood since 2011. Marchand's new mark of 1min 52.69sec in the world championships semi-finals wiped more than a second off Lochte's 1min 54.00 and meant he added the 200m medley world record to his record in the 400m. Twenty-four hours after the fastest swim of his life, Marchand climbed back in the pool and defied tiredness to take the world crown in 1:53.68, the second-quickest time ever. Marchand was made to work hard for the win, with American Shaine Casas pushing him hard before finishing second in 1:54.30, with Hungary's Hubert Kos third in 1:55.34. It gave Marchand, who won four individual golds in front of his home fans at the Paris Olympics a year ago, his first gold in Singapore. 'I felt so excited yesterday that I couldn't sleep,' he said after sealing gold. 'So I think I lost a lot of energy yesterday night, but it was my goal to break the record, so I was really happy with it.' Marchand will also race in the 400m medley in Singapore this week. Michael Phelps's record of five individual titles in a single world championships is under severe threat from Canadian phenomenon McIntosh. The 18-year-old powered to her third gold out of three events with victory in the 200m butterfly, falling agonizingly short of the world record. McIntosh touched the wall in 2:01.99, just failing to beat the world mark of 2:01.81 set by China's Liu Zige in 2009. It was the second-fastest time in history. 'Overall, happy with the time and a PB (personal best), but I didn't reach my goal tonight,' McIntosh said of missing the world record. American Regan Smith was second in 2:04.99, with Australia's Elizabeth Dekkers third in 2:06.12. Chinese 12-year-old Yu Zidi was narrowly fourth in 2:06.43. It is the second time at the championships that the schoolgirl has just lost out on a medal. McIntosh, the 200m butterfly Olympic champion, has already won the 400m freestyle and 200m individual medley in Singapore. She will continue her assault on the world championships in the 800m freestyle, squaring off against American legend Katie Ledecky. Popovici sprint double Romania's David Popovici completed the sprint double after winning the 100m freestyle final, having also triumphed in the 200m free. Popovici won the blue-riband race in a championship-record 46.51sec, with Jack Alexy of the United States taking silver (46.92) and Australia's Kyle Chalmers bronze (47.17). Popovici's time was the second-fastest ever and he had just too much finishing power for a field missing Olympic champion and world record holder Pan Zhanle of China. There was a United States one-two in the women's 50m backstroke, with Katharine Berkoff (27.08sec) edging team-mate Regan Smith (27.25) for victory. Mollie O'Callaghan brought Australia home ahead of arch rivals the United States to win a thrilling women's 4x200m freestyle relay final. O'Callaghan, a five-time Olympic gold medalist, was barely able to stand afterwards. China claimed bronze to delight the large number of Chinese fans in the arena and round off the fifth day of action. — AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Fritz beats rain, Carballes Baena to advance in Toronto
TORONTO: 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.' Fritz's fourth-seeded compatriot Ben Shelton had no complaints after earning his first career win over gritty Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3. Shelton had dropped two prior meetings with 37-year-old qualifier Mannarino but said he was able to vary his serve to get over the line this time. 'This win was huge for me. He's a shotmaker, he can take the racquet out of your hands,' Shelton said. 'I've played well against him in the past and come up short, he can make things really difficult.' American Frances Tiafoe squeezed out a win after more than two and a quarter hours against Japan's Yosuke Watanuki, hailing his opponent's fighting spirit after a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) triumph. 'He can hit a winner on any shot,' Tiafoe said. 'I needed some luck in those last two sets to win.' Tiafoe managed just 19 winners to the 45 of his 158th-ranked foe, but now lines up against Australian Alexsandar Vukic, who defeated Briton Cam Norrie 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3. Andrey Rublev, runner-up in Canada a year ago to Alexei Popyrin, won his 250th career match on hardcourt as he beat France's Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-3. — AFP The sixth seed needed four match points to advance after 86 minutes and now plays Italian Lorenzo Sonego, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over China's Bu Yunchaokete. Wimbledon quarter-finalist Flavio Cobolli of Italy delivered four aces in the final game of a rain-interrupted match to clinch a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Canadian Alexis Galarneau. But Canadian Gabriel Diallo came out on top against his Italian opponent, beating Matteo Gigante 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to next face Fritz. Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered another early disappointment, losing his opening match in his home Masters for a third straight year as he fell to Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-4. Former top 10 ranking regular Stefanos Tsitsipas, now 30th in the world, continued a downward slide with a 6-4. 4-6, 6-2 loss to Australian Christopher O'Connell. Alex de Minaur, winner in Washington on Sunday, defeated Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-2. 'It was not pretty by any means,' Australia's de Minaur said. 'The wind and rain made it quite tough. I'm happy I was engaged and focused from the first point to the last. 'Backing up a good week is the toughest ask in tennis. You don't have a lot of time to enjoy the moment after a week of emotional highs. 'You have to find a way to re-set and do it all over again.' – AFP
