Naomi Osaka advanced to the semi-finals of the Canadian Open for the first time in her career after a commanding 6-2, 6-2 win over Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in Tuesday’s quarter-final. The four-time Grand Slam champion took just over an hour to secure the straight-sets victory in Montreal.
It marks the Japanese former world number one’s first appearance in a WTA 1000 semi-final since Miami in 2022. Osaka took advantage of Svitolina’s unforced errors, breaking twice to move within a game of claiming the first set. Although she briefly dropped serve as Svitolina threatened a comeback, Osaka held firm, broke back and closed out the opener.
The second set was more tightly contested, but Osaka continued to pressure the 10th seed, converting two more break points to seal the win.
The 27-year-old will next face Danish 16th seed Clara Tauson, who continued her strong run by defeating American sixth seed Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4. Tauson had already claimed a major scalp earlier in the tournament by beating six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek.
“I think for me, I’m just having a lot of fun playing and I’m really glad to be here,” Osaka said after her win. “She’s (Tauson) really tough. I played her in Auckland this year and I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So, I’m really excited that I’m healthy and I hope that it’s a good match for everyone that comes and watches.”
Tauson was dominant in the opening set against Keys, converting both of her break points and wrapping up the set in just over 30 minutes. Keys was broken again early in the second, allowing the 22-year-old Dane to reach only the second WTA 1000 semi-final of her career.