Second seed Elena Rybakina, third seed Jessica Pegula and fourth seed Coco Gauff advanced to the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto on Wednesday, with Rybakina and Pegula both coming through three-set tests.
Rybakina, the Australian Open champion from Kazakhstan, opened her hardcourt campaign ahead of the US Open with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Australia’s Daria Kasatkina. The match lasted two hours and 33 minutes and featured a fast start, a second-set setback and a tense finish before the second seed sealed her place in the next round.
Pegula also had to recover after dropping the opening set, defeating Poland’s Magdalena Frech 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and three minutes. Gauff’s progress was more straightforward on the scoreboard as the two-time Grand Slam winner beat fellow American Kayla Day 6-2, 7-5.
Rybakina survives a fluctuating three-set contest
Rybakina began strongly against Kasatkina, hitting six consecutive winners at the start of the contest. She took the first set 6-3 and eventually finished the match with 58 winners, including 15 aces.
The encounter was not without complications. Rybakina made 58 unforced errors, with 16 of those double faults. Back-to-back double faults handed Kasatkina the second set, 7-5, forcing the match into a deciding set.
In the third, Rybakina regained enough control to close out a 6-4 set and the match. The final game was also difficult: she produced three double faults while serving for victory before ultimately advancing.
Her next opponent will be 28th-seeded American Ann Li. Li reached the third round after eliminating Canadian wildcard Kayla Cross 7-6 (7/2), 6-3. The result gives Rybakina another seeded-player meeting to prepare for as the Toronto draw moves forward.
For Rybakina, the win provides an opening hardcourt result ahead of the US Open despite the uneven serving stretches. Her ability to produce winners and aces was central to getting through a match that extended beyond two and a half hours.
Pegula rallies while Gauff and Andreeva win
Pegula arrived in Toronto after losing Monday’s rain-hit Washington final and was tested immediately by Frech. The American lost the first set 6-3 but responded with a 6-3 second set before taking the decider 6-2 to secure her third-round place.
Next for Pegula is Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova. Rakhimova advanced when Czech player Katerina Siniakova retired while trailing 6-7 (1/7), 6-0, 5-2. Pegula’s recovery against Frech ensured that another of the tournament’s leading seeds remained in the event.
Gauff joined Rybakina and Pegula in the third round with a straight-sets victory over Day. Gauff won the first set 6-2, then edged a closer second set 7-5. The fourth seed therefore moved on without needing a deciding set.
World number five Mirra Andreeva also advanced in straight sets. The Russian teenager defeated Czech player Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-2, producing the most one-sided scoreline among the four reported matches.
Wednesday’s results kept several prominent players moving through the Toronto WTA 1000 field. Rybakina’s hard-fought win, Pegula’s comeback and Gauff’s two-set success set up the next phase of the tournament, while Andreeva also continued her run with a decisive victory.
