Second seed Elena Rybakina produced an impressive comeback to beat Naomi Osaka 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the Canada Open quarterfinals in Toronto on Tuesday. The two-hour, 33-minute battle saw the Kazakh player storm back after dropping the opening set.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and 2026 Australian Open winner, will face fourth seed Coco Gauff in the semifinals after the American's opponent, Belinda Bencic, withdrew with a hip injury.
In their first career meeting, Osaka started strong, breaking serve in the opening game and protecting her lead to take the first set. The four-time Grand Slam champion then moved ahead 4-2 in the second set, but Rybakina fought back to level and claimed the tie-break to force a decider.
In the third set, the Kazakh saved four break points before breaking serve twice to take control and close out the match. “The first game of the match was really difficult because it cost me the set,” Rybakina said. “In the second set, I was just trying to stay in it even though I was down. It's rare to go years without playing someone even when you're both on tour. She's a great champion, a fighter. I knew this would be a tough match.”
Earlier in the day, Gauff reached the semifinals without striking a ball after Bencic withdrew. The 22-year-old, a 2023 US Open champion, gains extra time to refine her game ahead of the US Open. She has been impressive in Toronto, not dropping a set, and this marks her 16th career WTA 1000 semifinal appearance.
Gauff was runner-up in Miami and Rome before falling in the Wimbledon semifinals this year. She has added new tactical elements to her game and shown top form in Toronto. The pair previously met at the same event in 2022, where Gauff won in three sets.
