World No. 2 Elena Rybakina survived a tense battle before defeating Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Canadian Open in Toronto on August 9. Despite trailing 0-3 and losing two breaks in the final set, the Kazakh player mounted a successful comeback.
Meanwhile, world No. 4 Coco Gauff cruised past young Russian Alina Korneeva 6-3, 6-1. Gauff has not dropped a set at this year's tournament and will face 14th seed Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals. Bencic beat Alexandra Eala 6-4, 6-0 in 73 minutes.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, also booked her spot in the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over home favorite Leylah Fernandez. Osaka will meet Rybakina in the quarterfinals, their first career meeting.
“My main goal today was to try to finish the match. It might not be the right mindset, but it worked,” Gauff said. “I'm proud of the last three matches, and I know that if I have to go the distance, I'm ready, but of course I'd rather finish sooner.”
Osaka, meanwhile, said she played well in key service games. “She has a great spirit, she's persistent and always fights. She's like a bulldog,” the Japanese player said of Fernandez.
Bencic won 64.4% of her first-serve points in her win over Eala, and recorded her 10th consecutive victory against left-handed opponents. “I hate playing lefties, so I'm surprised by that statistic,” Bencic joked.
