While some off court news regarding Serena Williams stole the headlines, there was still tons of great tennis taking place at Sobeys Stadium on the second day of the National Bank Open.
It was fitting that so much attention was being paid to one of the greatest female athletes, realistically one of the greatest athletes period, on Cashmere Women’s Day!
Catch up on all the goings-on of day two.
Results
Bianca Andreescu returned to Toronto for the first since her title run in 2019 and kicked off the night session in typical Andreescu fashion, digging deep for a hard-earned victory over the 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.
The Canadian, bolstered by the home crowd, broke early in both sets but struggled to put away her pesky opponent. But at the business end of both sets, it was Andreescu coming up with her best tennis to claim a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory.
10th seed Coco Gauff came out guns blazing to start the action on Tuesday, needing just 62 minutes to put away her compatriot Madison Brengle. The Roland-Garros runner-up raced out to a 3-0 lead to start the match and never looked back as she cruised into the second round with a 6-1, 6-3 victory.
That sets up a mouth-watering second-round clash with Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
In one of the biggest round-one clashes, defending champion Camila Giorgi kicked off her campaign to become the first woman to defend the title in Canada in the 21st century by taking down US Open champion Emma Raducanu in straight sets.
The pair kept going back and forth, exchanging break three times, before the Italian swept through the first set tiebreak and rode that moment to a 7-6(0), 6-2 win.
Another Grand Slam champion exited on Tuesday, albeit under more unfortunate circumstances when Naomi Osaka was forced to retire with an injury. The four-time major champion trailed Kaia Kanepi by a set and a break when she called it quits.
Qinwen Zheng kicked off the action on Centre Court with a win, much to the shagrin of the Canadian fans as she rallied from a set down to defeat Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. The home fans were handed further disappointment when Canadian Carol Zhao was beating in straight sets by Amanda Anisimova.
Sara Sorribes Tormo and Ajla Tomljanovic both won thrillers in third-set tiebreaks. At three hours and 33 minutes, Sorribes Tormo’s win over Claire Liu was the longest match at the 2022 National Bank Open so far.
Elise Mertens also booked her place in the second round with a 7-6(2), 6-1 win over Anna Bondar. Shuai Zhang also advanced with a straight-sets win over Cristina Busca. 12th seed Belinda Bencic booked a blockbuster clash Wednesday night against Sereva Williams by beating Tereza Martincova.
In the final match of the night, third seed Maria Sakkari outlasted Sloane Stephens in a three-set thriller, the lone second-round match of the day. The former US Open champion put up a serious fight after getting blown out in the opening set, but the Greek buckled down and scored a late break to close out the victory just after midnight and become the first woman to reach the last sixteen.
Fan Experience
Tuesday is Cashmere Women’s Day at Sobeys Stadium.
The big highlight was a brunch that included giveaways and games. But the lucky women in attendance also were greeted by a surprise guest.
World No. 5 and Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur stopped by for a Q&A session. Gift bags from Cashmere were also handed out.
Viral Moment on Social
The Fernandez sisters, Leylah Annie and Bianca Jolie, made waves at Sobeys Stadium as they teamed for a doubles match,
It was not just their made that got some attention on social, but their pre-match routine. A story in two parts on Leylah’s Instagram.
