It was hot and steamy for the first three days of main draw play at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
Following a little dip, temperatures in Montreal rise once again Friday (before getting hotter over the weekend), so it’s fitting that Tropical Night Presented by Barbados features around the grounds.
The tennis action takes place in both the day and night with yet more eye-catching third-round matches.
Here are just a few of them to check out.
Slam winner (Raducanu) vs. Slam finalist (Anisimova)
Emma Raducanu and friend Amanda Anisimova are trending upwards. For only the second time in her still young career, Raducanu has won multiple matches in three straight top-tier tournaments. The 22-year-old Brit, who captured the U.S. Open as a qualifier in 2021 after beating Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez in the final – last achieved the feat on grass in 2024 before yet more injury woes surfaced.
She’s now feeling good physically and with coach Mark Petchey back in the mix, is looking tough to beat.
The fans got behind the Toronto-born Raducanu, too, in her straight-set win over Peyton Stearns in the second round.
“I just want to say thank you,” Raducanu responded, addressing the fans.
“I saw the Union Jack in clutch moments, and I was actually born in Canada, so to me it means so much to do well here.”
Watch out for the backhand battle between the pair, they can both produce magic on that side.
In her first match since making the Wimbledon final, Anisimova beat Lulu Sun, in straight sets. The 23-year-old from the US thumped 11 aces.
Raducanu has won both their meetings in straight sets – and they were both on hard courts.
The ‘O’ Grand Slam winners: Osaka and Ostapenko
Naomi Osaka lost her first two matches in Montreal – in 2016 and 2018 – but got off the mark in the first round this week.
However, she was in deep trouble on Wednesday against Liudmila Samsonova. The big-serving 2023 Montreal finalist held two match points on her own serve in the second set before Osaka pulled off an escape act.
Fellow power baseliner Jelena Ostapenko hasn’t been able to replicate her 2017 French Open crown but at the same time, has been impressively consistent in the last three seasons, finishing inside the Top 20.
First-strike tennis will be on offer, with Osaka getting the better of their duels so far (2-0 without losing a set).
The Olympic champion (Bencic) vs. Slam finalist (Muchova)
Belinda Bencic handled herself brilliantly on Wednesday. She knew the night was all about Eugenie Bouchard (playing at home in her final tournament) and didn’t put a foot wrong with her on-court demeanour as the Montreal faithful, predictably, loudly backed her opponent.
Bencic even stuck around to watch the post match tribute to Bouchard instead of quickly leaving the court to recover after what was an intense three-setter.
The 17th-seeded Swiss has had success before – and after – becoming a mom. She won Toronto in 2015, Olympic gold in 2021 in singles and a few weeks ago, made the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Her opponent, Karolina Muchova, has been deprived of court time in her career due to numerous injuries. This time, she’s back from a left wrist ailment that’s forcing her to predominantly slice.
But Muchova always seems to find her groove quickly – and, after a successful end to 2024, is higher ranked than Bencic. Bencic, though, leads their rivalry 2-1
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