Tauson beats Keys for second successive top-10 victory

Madison Keys defeated Clara Tauson 6-1, 6-4, on Tuesday to reach the final four of the Canadian Open, marking only her second WTA 1000 semifinal appearance of her career.

After defeating second seed Iga Swiatek in the previous round, Danish player Tauson, who is seeded 16th in Montreal, won a significant victory.

The 22-year-old revealed she had done it while dealing with a personal tragedy after losing to sixth seed Keys.

My grandfather unfortunately passed away two days ago, so I really wanted to win for him today, Tauson said after the game.

“I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis to him the day after I beat Swiatek,” I was told the following day.

“I’m hoping he’s watching.”

In the opening set against Keys, Tauson, who was 19th overall, was effective, turning in both of her break point victories and retiring in less than 30 minutes.

Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will face Tauson in the semi-finals after the Japanese star reached the final four of her career for the first time.

In the quarter-finals, Osaka defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2 to reach her first WTA 1000 semi-final since 2022.

Svitolina attributed the “shameful” behavior to those who had staked money on the game to which she had received death threats following her defeat.

The 30-year-old wrote in an Instagram story where she attached screenshots of the messages, “I’m a mom before I’m an athlete.”

It’s shameful how you talk to women and mothers. Your mothers would be disgusted if they saw your messages.

Osaka defeated Svitolina in the top 10th-seeded match in less than an hour.

The former world number one made unforced errors, breaking twice, before putting her weight behind her to serve out after Svitolina had a chance to get one break back.

Osaka continued, “I think for me, I’m just having a lot of fun playing and I’m really glad to be here.” After adding two more break points to win in Montreal.

She is extremely tough, according to Tasson. This year, I played her in Auckland, and I had to reshuffle halfway because of my injuries. I’m so happy that I’m healthy, and I hope everyone who watches watches will find it exciting.

American second seed Taylor Fritz defeated Russian sixth seed Andrey Rublev to reach the semis of the men’s tournament in Toronto.