Top-seeded Gauff eliminated at National Bank Open

TORONTO — Coco Gauff is done at the National Bank Open.

The women’s top seed was ousted by No. 14 Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-1 in the third round of the Canadian championship Friday.

Gauff, ranked No. 2 in the world, was broken by the Russian trailing 5-4 in the first set.

The 20-year-old American then double-faulted down 2-1 and Shnaider held serve to go up 4-1 at a windy Sobeys Stadium.

Gauff, last year’s U.S. Open winner, was broken again before Shnaider sealed an emphatic victory on Centre Court to advance to the quarterfinals.

Defending champion Jessica Pegula of the U.S. moved on earlier in the day when she topped American qualifier Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-4.

Pegula was the beneficiary of nine double faults in a match where both players struggled with the conditions.

The No. 3 seed topped Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova in last year’s Montreal final after also making the semis in both 2021 and 2022.

The 20-year-old Krueger upset No. 15 seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., on Thursday to eliminate the last remaining Canadian singles player in the draw — both in Toronto and at the men’s event in Montreal.

No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus met Great Britain’s Katie Boulter later Friday.

In other matches, Taylor Townsend of the U.S. upset No. 4 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia 6-2, 6-1, Samsonova — the No. 6 seed — beat Belgium’s Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4, and No. 8 Emma Navarro of the U.S. beat No. 11 Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 7-5, 7-5.

Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. also advanced after No. 10 Anna Kalinskaya of Russia retired because of dizziness.

Peyton Stearns became the fifth American in a quarterfinal contingent dominated by red, white and blue when No. 12 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus retired with a thigh injury.

Krueger’s serve gave Fernandez fits Thursday, but she fired just two aces against Pegula less than 24 hours later.

Krueger double-faulted up 4-3 in the second set to gift Pegula a break before sending her return wide in the next game for a 5-4 deficit.

Pegula, who won doubles in Toronto with Gauff two years ago, then clinched the match on a shot that clipped the net before she raised a hand in acknowledgment and hugged her compatriot.

The five-time winner on the WTA Tour improved to 3-0 against Krueger after also topping the Dallas native 6-0, 6-2 at Wimbledon last month. She downed Czechia’s Karolina Pliskova in straight sets to open her NBO title defence Wednesday.

Coming off a second-round showing at the Paris Olympics, Pegula improved to 14-2 all-time at Canada’s title event.

Townsend’s unlikely run continued after she made the women’s bracket as an injury replacement before No. 16 seed Dayana Yastremska retired in the second set of their match Tuesday.

The 71st-ranked American then steamrolled Marina Stakusic of Mississauga, Ont., by a count of 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2024.