Swiatek and Eala advance in Canadian Open singles, doubles action begins
Iga Swiatek has progressed to the fourth round of the Canadian Open after a straight-sets victory over Viktorija Golubic. In other singles action, Alexandra Eala moved into the third round in Toronto. The doubles competition also commenced on Thursday, featuring the partnership of Eala and Venus Williams.
Swiatek, the No. 7 seed, secured a commanding win against Golubic in the third round. The Polish former World No. 1, who was a semifinalist at the event in 2023, defeated Golubic 6-2, 6-1 in a match lasting 66 minutes. This marked their fourth encounter, with Swiatek having not lost to Golubic in their last three matches. Golubic holds a unique place in Swiatek’s career history as the only player to have defeated her in the first round of a Grand Slam, which occurred at Wimbledon 2019 when Swiatek was 18 years old.
Reflecting on her performance, Swiatek stated, “For sure it was a good day, and I’m really happy with the way I played. Even though the first game wasn’t super smooth, I knew I could start from the beginning, and then it went my way, and I could find my rhythm.” She is set to face either No. 10 seed Marta Kostyuk or No. 19 seed Madison Keys in the next round as she aims for her second quarterfinal appearance in Canada.
Eala’s Progress and Doubles Debut
Meanwhile, Alexandra Eala continued her strong performance on the North American hard-court circuit. The No. 25 seed defeated Alycia Parks with a score of 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the third round in Toronto. This victory followed her recent success at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, where she secured her first singles title on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz on Monday. Eala, a 20-year-old Filipina, quickly adapted to the new venue, returning to winning form in her Toronto debut after just two days.
In her match against Parks, Eala demonstrated early dominance, winning five consecutive games from a 1-1 tie to take the first set 6-1. She did not face any break points on her serve during this set and consistently applied pressure from the baseline. Parks responded in the second set, saving four break points to hold for a 3-2 lead and then breaking in the 10th game to win the set 6-4, forcing a decisive third set.
The third set saw an exchange of early breaks between the players. However, Eala secured a crucial break in the fifth game, moving ahead 3-2. She maintained control from that point, winning the subsequent three games to complete the victory in 1 hour and 51 minutes. Her doubles partnership with Venus Williams is scheduled to feature in the night session on Centre Court.
Other Notable Matches and Day’s Play
The third round of the singles competition at the National Bank Open began on Thursday at Sobeys Stadium. With 32 players remaining in the draw, several seed-vs-seed matchups were anticipated. On Centre Court, two Grand Slam champions and a two-time National Bank Open champion were scheduled to play in singles.
In other matches, Jessica Pegula faced Kamilla Rakhimova. Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Talia Gibson 5-7, 6-1, 6-3, while Diana Shnaider overcame Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-3. Marta Kostyuk secured a win against Madison Keys. The doubles competition also saw action, with Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs defeating Liudmila Kichenok and Maya Lumsden 7-5, 6-4. Coco Gauff and Caty McNally won against Ekaterina Alexandrova and Gabriela Dabrowski 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. Storm Hunter and Desirae Krawczyk were also victorious, beating K. Piter and Janice Tjen 6-4, 6-0.
Rain delays impacted several matches throughout the day. For instance, the match between Pegula and Rakhimova experienced a delay between the warm-up and the start, and again when Pegula was serving at 4-0, 40-15 in the second set. Similarly, the match involving Kostyuk and Keys had stop-start early stages due to rain interruptions. Ann Li and Clara Tauson’s match also saw a rain delay, which broke their momentum while they were up a set and a break.
Source: telanganatoday.com
