SERENA Williams has broken her 430-day winless drought by defeating Spaniard, Nuria Parrizas Diaz in straight sets. The American 23-time Grand Slam winner proved too good for the lucky loser, finally getting her first win in more than a year at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Williams’ Round of 64 victory was one of 12 in the women’s singles completed on day one of the tournament as the WTA 1000 event kicked off.
Currently unranked, Williams was able to ease back into WTA Tour life with a 6-3 6-4 triumph over Parrizas Diaz in an hour and 58 minutes on Centre Court. The United States representative served seven aces and won 67 per cent of her first serve points off a 67 per cent clip, whilst saving seven of the eight break points against her. She also broke three times from five chances herself, and won 43 per cent of her return points to book a spot in the second round against either Swiss talent Belinda Bencic or Czech Tereza Martincova.
Unfortunately it was not all good news for the Williams family, with older sister Venus going down to Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann in straight sets. Ottherwise it was a good day for the Americans, with qualifier Asia Muhammad, Sloane Stephens and Alison Riske-Amritraj joining Serena Williams in the second round. Stephens and Muhammad’s entry into the Round of 32 came at the expense of Sofia Kenin and Madison Keys.
Home nation representative Leylah Fernandez was the highest seed in action – with the top 12 receiving a bye in the first round – and the Canadian defeated Australian qualifier Storm Sanders 6-4 6-7 6-3. The other three seeds in Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and Jelena Ostapenko all advanced too in straight sets, with Pliskova’s victory over former world number two and compatriot Barbora Krejcikova the most impressive of the trio. Kazakhstan duo Yulia Putintseva and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina stamped their tickets into the second round round, as did Frenchwoman Alize Cornet and Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia.
The men’s ATP 1000 singles draw in Montreal had a much quieter day, with just four matches completed. Jenson Brooksby stormed to an impressive win over Alexander Bublik, but Brooksby’s compatriot Mackenzie McDonald was not as lucky, going down to Slovakian Alex Molcan. In other results, Russian Karen Khachanov defender Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, while Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori knocked off Stan Wawrinka in three sets.
AROUND THE TOUR RESULTS:
Montreal – ATP 1000 | Hard
Round of 64:
Jenson Brooksby (USA) defeated Alexander Bublik (KAZ) 6-2 6-3
Karen Khachanov (RUS) defeated Francisco Cerundolo (ARG) 7-6 5-7 6-3
Alex Molcan (SVK) defeated Mackenzie McDonald (USA) 7-6 6-4
Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) defeated [PR] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 6-3 3-6 6-3
Toronto – WTA 1000 | Hard
Round of 64:
[13] Leylah Fernandez (CAN) defeated [Q] Storm Sanders (AUS) 6-4 6-7 6-3
[14] Karolina Pliskova (CZE) defeated Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) 6-3 6-4
[15] Simona Halep (ROU) defeated [LL] Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-0 6-2
[16] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) defeated Anhelina Kalinina (UKR) 6-4 6-2
Alize Cornet (FRA) defeated Caroline Garcia (FRA) 3-6 6-3 6-3
Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) defeated Martina Trevisan (ITA) 6-2 2-6 6-2
[Q] Asia Muhammad (USA) defeated Madison Keys (USA) 7-6 6-4
Sloane Stephens (USA) defeated Sofia Kenin (USA) 6-2 5-7 7-5
Serena Williams (USA) defeated [LL] Nuria Parrizas Diaz (ESP) 6-3 6-4
Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) defeated [WC] Katherine Sebov (CAN) 3-6 6-2 7-5
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) defeated [Q] Marie Bouzkova (CZE) 7-5 3-6 6-1
Alison Riske-Amritraj (USA) defeated Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6-2 4-6 6-3
Jil Teichmann (SUI) defeated [WC] Venus Williams (USA) 6-2
Tsitsipas’ triple treat in Monte Carlo
GREEK star Stefanos Tsitsipas has won his third Monte Carlo Masters, getting past fellow clay court talent Casper Ruud in the final. The decider on Court Rainier III lasted 97 minutes, with the 12th seed winning 6-1 6-4 over the eighth seeded Norwegian, adding the 2024 title to his back-to-back 2021-22 trophies. It is an […]
Monte Carlo madness: Top two ousted in semis
CLAY courts can tend to throw up some big results, and that was certainly the case in the semi-final stage of the 2024 Monte Carlo Masters. With the top two in the world, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner heading for a memorable final, many expected the pair to face-off in the decider. The only problem? […]
Djoker quells Demon to reach Monte Carlo semis
WORLD number one Novak Djokovic proved that bit too strong for Australian Alex de Minaur, getting home in a tight two-set match at the Monte Carlo Masters. While just a couple of breaks throughout the course of the match separated the players, Djokovic was able to move to within two victories of a third clean […]
Rune wins Dimitrov slog to reach Monte Carlo quarters
WHEN you had to play your Round of 32 match earlier in the day following rain suspension from the previous day, the last thing you want is an epic struggle, but that was exactly the case for Dane Holger Rune who needed three and half hours to get past Grigor Dimitrov and reach the Monte […]
Pop goes the Rublev, as defending champ ousted by Aussie
AUSSIE Alexei Popyrin caused a massive boilover at the Monte Carlo Masters overnight, defeating top 10 star and defending champion Andrey Rublev to set up an all-Aussie third round match with Alex de Minaur. Popyrin has always shown the potential to be a top-line player, and he put it all together against the sixth seed, […]
Demon dash – Aussie races into second round
TOP-RANKED Australian Alex de Minaur was at his brutal best, making light work of Swiss Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka to reach the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters in a flurry. Needing just 63 minutes against the wildcard, de Minaur won 6-3 6-0, including the last eight games of the match. Wasting no […]
Getting his Fils: Arthur slays Hanfmann
YOUNG Frenchman Arthur Fils wasted no time in destroying his German opponent Yannick Hanfmann and making history in the process at the Monte Carlo Masters overnight. The 19-year-old Frenchman became the youngest male player from his nation to win a match at the event in almost two decades when he wiped his lucky loser opponent […]
Badosa spoils Halep return
SPANISH former world number two Paula Badosa played the role of party pooper against former world number one Simona Halep, with the latter returning to the WTA Tour for the first time in 18 months at the Miami Open. Despite Halep completely dominating the first set, Badosa worked her way back into the contest, and […]
Swiatek storms past Sakkari for Indian Wells title
WORLD number one Iga Swiatek showed no mercy against Greek top 10 talent Maria Sakkari, defeating her comprehensively in the 2024 Indian Wells WTA 1000 final, the second time in three years.The pair met back in 2022 with the result the same, though this time it was even more one-sided with Swiatek trouncing the world […]
