(Toronto) Coco Gauff is already eliminated from the National Bank Open. The tournament favorite was surprised in the third round by the 14e seeded Russian Diana Shnaider on Friday. The American lost in two sets of 6-4, 6-1.
World number two Gauff was broken when trailing 5-4 in the first set, handing the opening set to her rival.
In the second set, Gauff double-faulted her serve to give Shnaider a 3-1 lead. She was also broken in the sixth game, handing the Russian victory on a silver platter.
Shnaider will face her compatriot Liudmila Samsonova in the quarter-finals, who beat Belgian Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4.
At the end of the evening, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka won in two identical sets of 6-3 over British Katie Boulter.
The defending champion also continued her journey. Jessica Pegula defeated her American compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
The 30-year-old from Buffalo took advantage of nine double faults from her opponent, who came from qualifying, to win despite an inconsistent performance.
PHOTO BY DAN HAMILTON, USA TODAY SPORTS, PROVIDED BY REUTERS
Jessica Pegula
Pegula struggled at times inside the windswept Sobeys Stadium.
Last year in Montreal, Pegula defeated Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova in the final, after reaching the semi-finals on Canadian soil in 2021 and 2022.
On Thursday, Krueger, 20, beat Quebec’s Leylah Fernandez, 15e seeded.
She thus eliminated the last Canadian still in the singles competition.
In other matches on the schedule Friday, American Taylor Townsend defeated Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-1, while American Emma Navarro won 7-5, 7-5 against Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
Meanwhile, Russian Anna Kalinskaya withdrew from her match against American Amanda Anisimova due to injury.
Townsend is having an eventful week. After qualifying for the main draw as an alternate, her first-round rival, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, retired midway through the second set on Tuesday.
The American, ranked 71ethen crushed Ontario’s Marina Stakusic 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday to advance to the round of 16.