Naomi Osaka powers into semifinals
in Montreal, will face Clara Tauson
[August 06, 2025]
MONTREAL (AP) — Naomi Osaka powered into her first National
Bank Open semifinal, beating No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2 on
Tuesday night.
Osaka advanced to face No. 16 seed Clara Tauson, who eliminated
sixth-seeded Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4 in the first quarterfinal of the
night.
Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who reached No. 1 in the
rankings, continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament
since reaching the final in Miami in 2022. She stepped away from
tennis for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter
Shai in July 2023.
The native of Japan is seeking her eighth career title and her first
since the 2021 Australian Open.
“I’m really happy. I’m also really excited,” Osaka said. “After
Wimbledon (a third-round loss), I was really disappointed, and then
I just kind of let go of my expectations. And now we’re here.
“I find it kind of ironic, but I’m happy about it.”
Osaka got to the final of the ASB Classic final in Auckland to begin
this season and faced Tauson but had to retire due to an abdominal
injury after winning the first set 6-4.
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko takes on ninth seed Elena Rybakina
of Kazakhstan in the other semifinal Wednesday. Mboko, who’s playing
in her first main draw at the National Bank Open, will rise into the
WTA’s top 50 after beginning the year outside the top 300.
The 18-year-old from Toronto has defeated five higher-ranked
opponents en route to the semifinals, including top seed Coco Gauff
in the fourth round.
Tauson dedicated her victory to her grandfather, Peter, during an
on-court interview at IGA Stadium.
“I really wanted to win for him today,” she told the crowd before
breaking down in tears. “I really wanted to come out here and show
my best tennis for him, and hopefully he’s watching.”
Tauson said she only found out about her grandfather’s death on
Monday, a day after she eliminated Wimbledon champion and No.
3-ranked Iga Swiatek 7-6 (1), 6-3.
[to top of second column] |
Naomi Osaka of Japan reacts during her game against Elina Svitolina
of Ukraine during quarterfinal tennis action at the National Bank
Open in Montreal, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The
Canadian Press via AP)
She spoke of him as one of the biggest supporters
of her career.
“He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to
almost every single practice from my school,” the 22-year-old native
of Denmark said. “It was tough news yesterday morning when I woke
up, but I think it’s for the better. He was not feeling great for a
while.”
Tauson hasn’t lost a set in the tournament.
Keys failed to convert two break chances in the first game. After
the American held serve, Tauson won the ensuing five games to take
the first set.
“Not my best performance out there today,” said Keys, who won this
year’s Australian Open. “She played amazing tonight. She played
incredibly well, she served really well. It was just one of those
things where I felt like I kept trying different things, and she was
just beating me.
“When she’s serving like that, it’s going to be really hard to break
her.”
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