TORONTO — Top-seeded Coco Gauff cruised past Yafan Wang 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in the second round of the National Bank Open.
Preparing for her U.S. Open title defense, Gauff played her first hard-court match since the Miami Open in April.
“It’s not easy transitioning from all these different surfaces in such a short amount of time,” said the 20-year-old American, coming off a third-round loss on clay in the Paris Olympics. “Happy to get pushed through.”
In the night session, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open winner, faced Yue Yuan in the night session.
“I wouldn’t say that I played my best tennis,” Sabalenka said. “Really happy that I was able to stay focused no matter what.”
Elise Mertens edged Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-4 in a late match. Osaka, a former No. 1 player with four Grand Slam titles, is returning to form following maternity leave.
Earlier, fourth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko outlasted Paula Badosa 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Badosa won the Washington title Sunday in her comeback from a back injury.
No. 5 Daria Kasatkina, No. 6 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 8 Emma Navarro and No. 10 Anna Kalinskaya advanced. No. 7 Madison Keys retired from her match against Peyton Stearns because of a thigh injury while down 3-0 in the third set.
Kasatkina beat Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3; Samsonova topped Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 6-2; Navarro beat Magda Linette 6-2, 6-4; and Kalinskaya edged Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-2.
Canadian Leylah Fernandez, seeded 15th, dropped out with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to qualifier Ashlyn Krueger. Marina Stakusic, a 19-year-old wild card from nearby Mississauga, was thumped 6-0, 6-2 by Taylor Townsend.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz of Team Europe reacts as he plays against USA’s Ben Shelton of Team World during their 2024 Laver Cup men’s singles tennis match i
Ben Shelton secured three points for Team World with a scintillating 6-7(6) 7-5 10-7 win over Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, putting his side within on
On Monday, Lorenzo Musetti (No. 19 in the world) meets Alibek Kachmazov (No. 252) in the semifinals at the Chengdu Open. Musetti is favored over Kachma
* You can watch and bet on this match live here.. +18Revisando partido: Carlos Alcaraz vs Taylor Fritz | Competición: Laver Cup | Hora de inicio: 2024-09-22T1