Osaka shows no mercy to Svitolina, in semis

Montreal: Naomi Osaka powered into her first National Bank Open semifinal, beating No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 6-2.

Osaka advanced to face No. 16 seed Clara Tauson, who eliminated sixth-seeded Madison Keys 6-1 6-4 in the first quarterfinal of the night.

Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who reached No. 1 in the rankings, continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the final in Miami in 2022. She stepped away from tennis for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023.

Tauson dedicated her victory to her grandfather, Peter, during an on-court interview at IGA Stadium.

“I really wanted to win for him today,” she told the crowd before breaking down in tears. “I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he’s watching.”

Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton won in the quarterfinals, setting up the first all-American semifinal in

an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in 15 years. The second-seeded Fritz beat No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6(4). He hit 20 aces, including one that finished off the match.