Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek became the latest high-profile casualty at the Canadian Open after a shock fourth-round defeat to Denmark’s Clara Tauson in Montreal.
Tauson, ranked 19th in the world, gained revenge for her Wimbledon exit at the hands of Swiatek last month with an impressive 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 victory over the second seed. The result continues a wave of early exits for top seeds, with world number one Coco Gauff, two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula and fourth seed Mirra Andreeva all already out of the tournament.
“Obviously it’s really great and it shows all the hard work I’ve been doing has been the right thing,” said Tauson, who claimed her third WTA title in January, ending a three-year wait. “I’m getting more confidence at this level and feeling like I belong here a bit more. I think that really helped me today in the important points.”
Tauson will next face Madison Keys in the quarter-finals. The Australian Open champion battled through a tense encounter, saving two match points to overcome Karolina Muchova 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Earlier in the day, Naomi Osaka delivered a commanding performance, dropping just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 demolition of Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova in just 49 minutes. The former world number one, who is aiming for her first title since returning from maternity leave, has recently started working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, the former coach of Swiatek.
“I had a solid plan coming in here and it just happened to work out pretty well,” said Osaka, currently ranked 49 in the world.
In the men’s draw in Toronto, Australian Alex de Minaur continued his strong form with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over seventh seed Frances Tiafoe to reach the quarter-finals. The ninth seed, who won the Washington Open last week, is aiming to better his runner-up finish in last year’s event.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Holger Rune was ousted by Alexei Popyrin, with the Australian claiming a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 comeback win to reach the last eight.