ON the second day of National Bank Open action in Montreal, Canada showcased plenty of talent, with the remaining Round of 64 clashes finishing up as the beginning of Round of 32 action took over.

It was a hugely successful day for Russia, as all four Russians made their way through the opening round, with 10th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova leading the charge and joined by Liudmila Samsonova, Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova. While Pavlyuchenkova and Kasatkina claimed respective straight set wins over Caroline Garcia and Petra Martic, Samsonova upset 12th seed Kazakh Elena Rybakina in a two hour and eight-minute 6-4 5-7 6-4 clash – the longest of the day by just four minutes with Kudermetova a close second, defeating another Kazakh in Yulia Putintseva, 1-6 6-2 6-4.

Americans also found their form on the second day of play in Canada as all four competitors reigned supreme. Teenager and 15th seed Coco Gauff returned to the fray following a positive COVID-19 test prior to the Olympics, with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Latvian Anastasia Sevastova. The 17-year-old explained that while she did not have significant symptoms, the positive test certainly put a spanner in the works for her maiden Olympics campaign.

“The timing of it was terrible,” she said. “The actual experience wasn’t too bad. I didn’t have symptoms other than loss of smell… we [Gauff family] were one of the lucky ones. I know unfortunately other people weren’t as lucky. I’m super grateful that I was able to come out of it unharmed and unscarred.”

While Sevastova had won all three prior encounters, Gauff claimed the chocolates this time around and reacted well to the Latvian’s adjustments throughout to claim the straight sets win in just 66 minutes.

“Sevastova obviously gave me problems in previous matches,” Gauff said. “Even today she’s still a tough opponent. Today I just came out on top. She can mix up the game really well, which is what you don’t see often on the women’s tour. It’s definitely troublesome.

“But what I adjusted today was just focusing more on myself and not about what she does on her side of the court. I think in the past I overthink what she can do. Sometimes it’s just better to make your opponent play the ball.”

Gauff was joined in the second round by Sloane Stephens, Jessica Pegula and in-form Danielle Collins, after all three overcame tough opposition to claim the ascendancy in three set clashes. Elsewhere, Camila Giorgi upset ninth seed Belgian Elise Mertens, downing the Belgian 6-3 7-5 as Johanna Konta earned a second round berth by default following a mid-match injury retirement from Zhang Shuai, who claimed the first set before succumbing to injury. Sara Sorribes Tormo downed wildcard Canadian Carol Zhao 6-2 6-3, while Donna Vekic fired on all cylinders to dispose of another Belgian in Alison Van Uytvanck in just 65 minutes.

In the day’s Round of 32 results, both Czech competitors reigned supreme in their respective encounters, as Katerina Siniakova and seventh seed Petra Kvitova fired off nine aces and won 64.6 per cent of her total service points to down Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro, 6-4 6-4 in 89 minutes.

“Both sets were very tight, actually,” Kvitova said post-match. “In the first set, I was up all the time, but in the second set I was trying to come back from a break down. I made it in the end, but it was really tough.

“The conditions were very windy, it was still turning around so it wasn’t just one way when the wind went. The serve helped me a lot, and that was the key today.”

Siniakova upset sixth seed Garbine Muguruza in an interesting 6-2 0-6 6-3 result, Despite the second set blip, Siniakova retained control to defeat Muguruza in just under two hours, weathering the storm to win 62.5 per cent of her first serve points and convert seven of 11 break points. Meanwhile, the clash between Brit Harriet Dart and second seed Canadian Bianca Andreescu saw neither player relent throughout, with Andreescu eventually claiming the win 6-1 3-6 6-3 with her experience on show to close out the match in two hours and two minutes.

NATIONAL BANK OPEN ROUND OF 64 RESULTS: 

Camila Giorgi (ITA) defeated [9] Elise Mertens (BEL) 6-3 7-5
[10] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) defeated Caroline Garcia (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Liudmila Samsonova (RUS) defeated [12] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 6-4 5-7 6-4
[15] Coco Gauff (USA) defeated Anastasia Sevastova (LAT) 6-1 6-4
Daria Kasatkina (RUS) defeated Petra Martic (CRO) 7-5 6-3
Donna Vekic (CRO) defeated Alison Van Uytvanck (BEL) 6-1 6-2
Sara Sorribes Tormo (ESP) defeated Carol Zhao (CAN) 6-2 6-3
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) defeated Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 1-6 6-2 6-4
Johanna Konta (GBR) defeated Zhang Shuai (CHN) 4-6 5-2 RET
Sloane Stephens (USA) defeated Dayana Yastremska (UKR) 6-4 1-6 6-4
Jessica Pegula (USA) defeated Anett Kontaveit (EST) 5-7 6-3 6-3
Danielle Collins (USA) defeated Jil Teichmann (SUI) 4-6 6-1 6-3

NATIONAL BANK OPEN ROUND OF 32 RESULTS: 

[2] Bianca Andreescu (CAN) defeated Hannah Dart (GBR) 6-1 3-6 6-3
Katerina Siniakova (CZE) defeated [5] Garbine Muguruza (ESP) 6-2 0-6 6-3
[7] Petra Kvitova (CZE) defeated Fiona Ferro (FRA) 6-4 6-4

Picture credit: Tennis Canada