The singles semi-finals and doubles final are set at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, setting up an exciting last two days of tennis at IGA Stadium.
The first quarter-final on Tuesday evening saw Clara Tauson continue her stellar run in Montreal with a dominant 6-1, 6-4 win over Australian Open champion Madison Keys, her second consecutive victory over a Grand Slam winner after knocking out Iga Swiatek in the Round of 16. It was an especially emotional triumph for Tauson who told the crowd post-match that she lost her grandfather a few days ago.
"He was a a big supporter of my career. He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to almost every single practice from my school," Tauson told members of the media after the match. "It was tough news yesterday when I woke up, but I think it's for the better. He was not feeling great for a while."
Wednesday will be Tauson’s seventh semi-final appearance of the season and she’ll be looking to reach her second WTA 1000 final of the year after finishing as the runner up in Dubai in February.
Tauson is the second Danish player after Caroline Wozniacki to reach the NBO semi-finals.
Osaka’s fine form continues
Naomi Osaka has been at the top of her game since arriving in Montreal and that trend continued on Wednesday night with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 triumph over 2017 NBO winner Elina Svitolina.
The former World No. 1 is showing the pure ball striking and movement that helped her win four Majors. She’s been virtually invincible since saving match points against Liudmila Samsonova in the second round, having not lost more than four games in a set since then.
Osaka will be making her first semi-final appearance in Canada on Wednesday night. It’s her first WTA 1000 semi-final since Miami in 2022. She’s also equalled the best result achieved by a Japanese player (Kazuko Sawamatsu in 1974 and Kimiko Date Krumm in 1994) at the NBO in the Open Era.
Osaka and Tauson faced off for the first time in January in the Auckland final, but Osaka was forced to retire.
They will follow the first final four match between 18-year-old Canadian sensation Victoria Mboko and world no. 12 Elena Rybakina beginning at 6 p.m.
The day will start with the doubles final at 3 p.m. Taylor Townsend and Shuai Zhang defeated Caroline Dolehide and Sofia Kenin 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals on Tuesday to book their play opposite the American duo of Coco Gauff and McCartney Kessler in the championship bout. Townsend and Zhang will be looking to win their second straight title after claiming top honours in Washington.
Photo: Mathieu Bélanger
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