WTA Montreal Live Blog: Swiatek, Fernandez Headline Third-Round Action

9:39 p.m. ET – Nine hours later, Iga gets it done in Roland-Garros final rematch

Better late than never, right? After multiple rain delays, the World No. 1 is victorious in her rematch against No. 14 seed Muchova, playing another three-setter against the Czech but prevailing in a competitive third set, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. 

The win assures Swiatek of maintaining her 71 week hold on the top spot in the WTA Rankings – at least for another week.

Over on Rogers Court, Daria Kasatkina was also victorious in a match that started not long after noon, ousting Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in Canada for the second time in her career.

8:43 – At last, clear skies and dry courts!

Alright, let's try this again. With the schedules adjusted and a few select matches postponed until tomorrow (Sabalenka vs. Samsonova, Bencic vs. Kvitova), we're ready to pick up where we left off.

Swiatek and Muchova have returned to court to finish what they started, while headliner Leylah Fernandez and Danielle Collins wait in the wings for the second night session match.

Ready? Play (finally).

6:06 p.m. ET - Jinxed it. The rain has returned.

We got through about 10 points on Centre Court before the rain read our live blog and decided to spoil the excitement, apparently. Swiatek managed to secure an early break, but at 15-30 in the second game, the rain returned.

That's it for the day session – we'll be back for the remainder of this match as well as our sensational Fernandez-Collins and Sabalenka-Samsonova night session.

5:42 p.m. ET - Aaaaaand we're back!

After a multi-hour rain delay, the weather seems to be cooperating, the courts are dry and the players have returned to IGA Stadium. Muchova and Swiatek will pick up where they left off – the start of the third-set in a high-stakes third-round clash currently locked at 6-1, 4-6.

With a few shifts around the draw (Vondrousova vs. Gauff has been moved to Rogers Court and Bencic vs. Kvitova to Court 9), it's looking like we'll get around to all the scheduled matches today.

🙌

4:15 p.m. ET - Yup. Still raining.

Wish we had better news, but the rain continues to pour and IGA Stadium is looking more like IGA Lake at the moment. Weather insiders are saying better conditions are on the horizon, but for now – still no play in Montreal.

2:39 p.m. ET – Rain delays play with Swiatek and Muchova locked at a set apiece

NOT what you wanted to see on a day with this much incredible tennis scheduled, but the skies have opened up for rain and thunderstorms in Montreal, delaying play just as Muchova levelled the match with top-seed Swiatek at 1-6, 6-4. 

Join us in lighting a prayer candle for sunny skies soon... 🕯️

12:28 p.m. ET – Under-the-radar Pegula races past Paolini

Keep an eye on Jessica Pegula in Montreal – not only was she a semi-finalist here back in 2021, but she has the most hard-court quarter-finals on tour this year (six) and doesn't seem to be slowing down.

The 29-year-old American has been a model of consistency all season and shouldn't be underestimated as a contender for the title this week. Maybe then we'll start talking about a Big 4 in women's tennis? 

11:00 a.m. ET – If you thought Wednesday's Order of Play was great, just wait until you see today's. With all remaining players in action today and 11 of the 16 seeds still in the draw, it's an absolutely sensational day of tennis in Montreal and something tells us we might have a few classics in store.

Keep an eye out for the Iga Swiatek vs. Karolina Muchova rematch from the French Open final this year and hometown hero Leylah Fernandez vs. the fiery Danielle Collins to kick off the night session.

COURT CENTRAL starts at 12:30 PM
[1] I. Swiatek (POL) vs [14] K. Muchova (CZE)
[9] M. Vondrousova (CZE) vs [6] C. Gauff (USA)
NB 7:00 PM [WC] L. Fernandez (CAN) vs [Q] D. Collins (USA)
[15] L. Samsonova vs [2] A. Sabalenka

COURT ROGERS starts at 11:00 AM
[4] J. Pegula (USA) vs J. Paolini (ITA)
NB 1:30 PM M. Bouzkova (CZE) vs [10] D. Kasatkina
NB 4:30 PM S. Stephens (USA) vs [3] E. Rybakina (KAZ)
NB 7:00 PM [7] P. Kvitova (CZE) vs [12] B. Bencic (SUI)
[4] N. Melichar-Martinez (USA) / E. Perez (AUS) vs [WC] M. Stakusic (CAN) / C. Zhao (CAN)

COURT 9 starts at 11:00 AM
L. Siegemund (GER) / V. Zvonareva vs [7] S. Aoyama (JPN) / E. Shibahara (JPN)
[6] L. Kichenok (UKR) / J. Ostapenko (LAT) vs [ALT] M. Linette (POL) / B. Pera (USA)
M. Kostyuk (UKR) / S. Zhang (CHN) vs [2] S. Hunter (AUS) / E. Mertens (BEL)