Naomi Osaka Advances to National Bank Open Semifinal

Montreal, Aug 6 (AP) Naomi Osaka blazed her way into her inaugural National Bank Open semifinal, securing a dominant victory over No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina with a score of 6-2, 6-2. Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who has once held the world No. 1 ranking, will now face No. 16 seed Clara Tauson in the semifinals. Tauson ousted the sixth seed, Madison Keys, 6-1, 6-4, in the first quarterfinal clash of the evening. Returning strong after a 15-month break from tennis, Osaka displayed her top form, reminiscent of her performance leading to the final of the Miami Open in 2022. After stepping away from the sport, she welcomed her daughter, Shai, in July 2023. Osaka, a native of Japan, is on a quest for her eighth career title, her first since triumphing at the 2021 Australian Open. On the other side of the draw, Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko is set to face ninth seed Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in the other semifinal scheduled for Wednesday. Mboko, making her first appearance in the main draw at the National Bank Open, is set to ascend into the WTA's top 50 rankings, having commenced the year outside the top 300. The young Toronto native has impressively toppled five higher-ranked adversaries on her journey to the semifinals, notably besting top seed Coco Gauff in the fourth round. Tauson dedicated her quarterfinal victory to her late grandfather, Peter, during an emotive on-court interview at IGA Stadium. "I really wanted to win for him today," she expressed to the audience, shedding tears. "I wanted to showcase my best tennis for him, and hopefully, he's watching." Tauson learned of her grandfather's passing on Monday, a day after defeating Wimbledon champion and No. 3-ranked Iga Swiatek, 7-6 (1), 6-3. She praised him as a significant supporter throughout her career. "He used to coach me a little bit and drove me to nearly every practice," reflected the 22-year-old Danish native. "It was tough news yesterday morning, but perhaps it's for the better since he wasn’t feeling well for some time." Impressively, Tauson has yet to drop a set in this tournament. In her match against Keys, Tauson seized momentum after surviving two early break points and proceeded to win five consecutive games to capture the first set. "I didn't perform my best today," admitted Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion. "She was amazing tonight, serving exceptionally well. I kept trying different strategies, but she kept outplaying me. When she's serving like that, breaking her is an uphill battle." (AP) UNG

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