Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova, Madison Keys, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Muchova, and Naomi Osaka are just a few of the familiar names who joined Coco Gauff, Victoria Mboko, and Elena Rybakina in the Round of 16 on Friday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers in Montreal.
The day also featured the biggest upset of the tournament so far with Anastasija Sevastova knocking out two-time defending NBO champion Jessica Pegula.
Osaka was a winner on Centre Court to start play, improving to 3-0 against fellow Grand Slam champ Jelena Ostapenko with no sets lost. Osaka’s 6-2, 6-4 win came two days after the four-time Grand Slam winner saved a pair of match points against 2023 finalist Liudmila Samsonova.
She’s now 2-0 with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski watching from the stands.
What has stuck out from their time together so far?
“I think with personality, I was a little nervous because he seems a little stern but he’s actually kind of funny,” said Osaka. “He’ll randomly say a joke that I wasn’t expecting or something like that. I like him a lot. I know that we’ve only played two matches, but he seems very decisive with what he wants. And I think that that makes it very clear for me.”
Pegula’s doubles partner in Montreal, Australian Open champ Madison Keys, avoided an upset with a comeback 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win over a surging Caty McNally.
Along with Keys and Osaka, Clara Tauson counts as another hefty ball striker. The 16th-seeded Dane beat Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-3, 6-0.
Night Session Results
Centre Court was the sight of two lopsided matches on Friday night with Swiatek easily disposing of Eva Lys and reigning NBO and Wimbledon finalist Anisimova making quick work of Emma Raducanu.
On Rogers Court, former French Open finalist Muchova was victorious in an entertaining three-set contest against Belinda Bencic and former NBO champion Svitolina advanced thanks to a win over Anna Kalinskaya.
Friday’s results set the table for an impressive slate of fourth round matches set to be played during TennisFest Weekend to determine this year’s quarter-finalists. If you’re coming to IGA Stadium on Saturday, don’t forget to wear your best throwback tennis look to celebrate Retro Night presented by Iris.
Photo: Mathieu Bélanger
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