In a thrilling day of tennis at the National Bank Open in Toronto, top-seeded Coco Gauff showed her dominance with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 victory over Yafan Wang in the second round. The young American, gearing up for her US Open title defense, made a strong return to hard courts after a hiatus since the Miami Open in April.
“It’s not easy transitioning from all these different surfaces in such a short amount of time,” Gauff remarked after the match. “Happy to get pushed through.”
Meanwhile, in the night session, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, fresh off her Australian Open triumph, displayed her prowess with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Yue Yuan. Despite not playing her best tennis, Sabalenka expressed her satisfaction with maintaining focus throughout the match.
The excitement continued late into the night as Elise Mertens overcame Naomi Osaka in a hard-fought match, winning 6-3, 6-4. Osaka, a former world No. 1 with four Grand Slam titles under her belt, is steadily making her way back to form after a brief maternity leave.
In an earlier showdown, fourth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko battled past Paula Badosa in a tense encounter that saw Ostapenko emerge victorious with a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 win. Badosa, who clinched the Washington title just days ago in her comeback from a back injury, put up a strong fight.
Other notable winners on the day included No. 5 Daria Kasatkina, No. 6 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 8 Emma Navarro, and No. 10 Anna Kalinskaya. However, seventh-seeded Madison Keys was forced to retire from her match against Peyton Stearns due to a thigh injury, with Stearns leading 3-0 in the third set.
The National Bank Open in Toronto continues to deliver thrilling matches and surprises, keeping fans on the edge of their seats as the action unfolds on the hard courts. Stay tuned for more exciting tennis action as the tournament progresses.
