Swiatek slumps, Osaka soars at Canadian Open
Iga Swiatek lost a day after top seed Coco Gauff was knocked out in straight sets.
Second seed Iga Swiatek crashed to a shock 7-6(1) 6-3 to Dane Clara Tauson in the Canadian Open round of 16 on Sunday, becoming the latest top player to exit from the Montreal tournament.
The Wimbledon champion had no answer to Tauson's creativity and firepower. The 22-year-old registered her win when Swiatek's attempted backhand crashed into the net.
"It's tough conditions here with the wind but I tried my best to keep my head cool and keep working," Tauson said after the match.
"Even though I got broken in the second set, I was feeling confident and I'm really happy about the win."
Six-time Grand Slam champion lost a day after top seed Coco Gauff was knocked out by Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in straight sets.
Sixteenth seed Tauson will be up against Madison Keys in the quarter-finals. Keys saved two match points to beat Karolina Muchova 4-6 6-3 7-5.
In their only previous meeting, Tauson had beaten Keys in Auckland in January.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka took only 49 minutes to beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-0 and reach the last eight stage.
It is the first time that the four-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the quarters of a WTA 1000 event in 19 months after 2024 Doha.
"I had a solid plan coming in here, and it happened to work out very well," Osaka said after her win.
Osaka will battle either Amanda Anisimova or Elina Svitolina for a semis spot.
De Minaur advances
In the men's section, ninth seed Alex de Minaur edged past Frances Tiafoe 6-2 4-6 6-4 to set up a date with Ben Shelton, who deafeated Flavio Cobolli 6-4 4-6 7-6(1).
"It was never going to be easy and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away," De Minaur said.
"I think I battled him, myself, and the conditions and I am happy to sneak away with a win today."
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev also moved into the quarters for the first time as his opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired with an injury while trailing 7-6(3) 6-7(2) 3-0.