Second round action is in full swing Wednesday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
If you’re paying a visit, there’s more live music and you can even make your own friendship bracelets. The tennis, of course, takes centre stage, and here are a few things to look out for.
Part 2 for Genie
Hold the phone on Eugenie Bouchard’s retirement. The Montreal native and Wimbledon finalist beat Emiliana Arango in an entertaining three-setter on Monday to keep her career going for at least one more match.
The famous Montreal crowd helped her to pull through and record a first victory in her hometown since 2016.
A year before that, Bouchard met Wednesday’s foe, Belinda Bencic, in Toronto. Bencic won that match – and then the title.
Fully returning to the tour this season after becoming a mom, Bencic reached the Wimbledon semi-finals earlier this month. She’s also an Olympic gold medallist.
Anisimova back in action
The last time Amanda Anisimova played a match, it didn’t go well. In fact, she didn’t win a single game.
However, Anisimova making the Wimbledon final was an undeniable positive for a player who shone in the juniors and appeared in the French Open semi-finals prior to taking a break from the game to reset.
Besides, her conqueror at Wimbledon, Iga Swiatek, is no stranger to handing out bagels.
Now inside the Top 10, Anisimova – and her fearsome backhand – takes on another player who had success at Wimbledon, Lulu Sun. The lefty from New Zealand reached the quarter-finals in 2024, though has struggled since then. Anisimova was a finalist in Toronto last year.
Iga, Pegula start campaigns
With world class bagels in Montreal, Swiatek should feel right at home in Montreal. The six-time Grand Slam winner faces Chinese qualifier Guo Hanyu, who speaking of bagels, won her qualifying match 6-0, 6-0.
A doubles specialist, the 27-year-old then beat the crafty Yulia Putintseva – who toppled Swiatek at Wimbledon in 2024 -- to register a first WTA singles win.
Jessica Pegula begins her quest for a three-peat against a player more well known, Maria Sakkari. A former Top 10 regular, Sakkari’s ranking dropped after a shoulder injury last year.
Although their head-to-head is tight (6-5 to Pegula), Pegula has won the last three, all in straight sets.
Osaka meets reigning Montreal finalist
Naomi Osaka and Liudmila Samsonova go head to head once again, having just faced off on grass in Berlin in June. Overall, Wednesday’s clash marks a fifth meeting since the start of last year.
Samsonova’s three-set victory last month squared their series at 2-2. Samsonova’s big weapon is her serve and it was working against Osaka that day as she hit 14 aces. To add to that, Samsonova (now 16th in the rankings) reached her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon, stopped by Swiatek.
Osaka, however, has won their two hard-court duels. Hard courts happen to be the surface where Osaka won all four of her majors, too.
The US-based Japanese power baseliner entered Montreal with a new set up – cutting ties with coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Samsonova enjoys playing in Canada, reaching the quarter-finals last year – and making the final in Montreal in 2023.
Photo: Frédéric Côté
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