We’re at the halfway point of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and time flies when you’re having fun at a live tennis event like this one! The day started with the final sixteen competitors in singles and by the end of the day now the quarterfinals matchups are all set here in Toronto.
The top four seeds were all still alive as the day began, including top seed Coco Gauff. After her opening-match victory on Thursday, the 20-year-old American was asked what it’s like to have a target on her back now that she’s a top seed.
Results from Toronto on Friday
“It’s definitely difficult. I feel like a lot of times people play their best tennis against the higher-ranked players and that’s just because they have nothing to lose, so it’s definitely a difference.”
Gauff played in the first match of the night session and ran into one of the hottest players on the WTA at the moment, 14th seed Diana Shnaider. Shnaider came into the event with a silver medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics as well as a tournament victory recently at the Hungarian Open. She also excelled on grass earlier this summer with another title in Bad Homberg Open against Donna Vekic.
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This was the first career meeting between the two and between the windy conditions and her high number of errors, it just wasn’t Gauff’s “day at the office” as she put it afterwards.
In the day session Friday, there were a couple of unfortunate injury withdrawals from Anna Kalinskaya and Victoria Azarenka.
Kalinskaya was a guest on Thursday on Match Point Canada, watch the full interview below:
Aside from the tennis, there were plenty of fun activities for fans around the grounds on Friday. The Rogers First Set tennis happened on Centre Court right before the Gauff match and in the evening it was Barbados Night at the NBO. There were dancers greeting fans at the main gates and they were joined by drummers as well on Centre Court before the start of the night matches to help get the energy flowing.
While there are no Canadians left in the singles draw following yesterday’s losses for Marina Stakusic and Leylah Annie Fernandez, there is still plenty of Canuck content in the doubles event.
World No. 3 and recent Bronze medalist at the Paris Olympic Games, Gaby Dabrowski made her first appearance at the NBO this year with partner and newly crowned World No. 1 Erin Routliffe against Peyton Stearns and Magda Linette.
It was a back-and-forth battle with the challengers taking the opening set and then taking a break lead in the second set as well. Stearns and Linette then went to serve for the match but were broken at love by Dabrowski and Routliffe who would shortly after push to a second set tiebreak. The No. 1 seeds took the tiebreak to send it to a match tiebreak.
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In the ensuing breaker, the crowd favourites maintained the lead all the way through and took the match 6-7(0), 7-6(3), 10-5. They now advance to the quarter-finals Saturday and a meeting with the surprising college tandem of young Canadians Ariana Arseneault and Mia Kupres.
The Fernandez sisters, Leylah Annie and Bianca Jolie, are also through to the quarter-finals of the doubles. They had the day off today.
The WTA's best return to Toronto this summer for the National Bank Open August 4 to 12, 2024 at Sobeys Stadium. 2024 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!
Feature Photo: Tyler Anderson
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