Tuesday at the Rogers Cup featured the second half of first-round action and the opening of second-round action. Let’s do a quick recap and see the photos our Jimmie48 took during another busy day in Toronto.
Barty’s ranking pedestal is shaky now
Playing her first match since a fourth-round defeat by Alison Riske at Wimbledon, Ashleigh Barty put her No.1 ranking on the line by falling to American Sofia Kenin in the second round of the Rogers Cup, 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4. After recovering from 5-3 down, Barty won the first set in a tiebreak. The 20-year-old Kenin then took the second set with three breaks of serve, neutralizing Barty’s 2/2 break point conversion, while in the deciding set Kenin broke twice to race to a 4-1 lead before seeing out a surprise victory, her first over a top-ranked player.
It’s very probable that Barty will not be No.1 on Monday — all Naomi Osaka has to do to reclaim the top spot is beat Tatjana Maria in her Wednesday’s Toronto opener, while Karolina Pliskova can get back to the prestigious ranking position by reaching at least the semifinals (if Osaka makes the quarters, then Pliskova would need to reach the final, while if they both reach the title match, then the champion will claim the No.1 ranking).
Andreescu’s injury comeback victorious against compatriot Bouchard
In a rare all-Canadian clash on Canadian soil, teenager Bianca Andreescu outlasted Eugenie Bouchard 4-6 6-1 6-4 in the first round, playing her first match since aggravating a shoulder injury at Roland Garros. Andreescu feels confident in her game and her health is good, there is no pain. Bouchard, currently ranked 112th, hasn’t won a singles match since the tournament in Dubai in mid-February.
Americans Sloane Stephens and Venus Williams were eliminated Tuesday. The seventh-seeded Stephens fell to Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 6-2 7-5 in the second round, while Venus Williams lost to Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro 6-4 6-2 in the first round.
Victoria Azarenka, Donna Vekic, Alison Riske, Katerina Siniakova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Zhang Shuai, Iga Swiatek, Tatjana Maria and Ekaterina Alexandrova advanced to the second round on Tuesday.
MORE ROGERS CUP 2019 PHOTOS:
- Monday: Sharapova loses to Kontaveit, Kasatkina stuns Kerber
- Sunday: Top players arrive in Toronto, Sharapova is back
- Saturday: First round of qualifying and more
Hoping Venus does a good run in the US Open 2019. She has been a role model and an inspiration to many young American woman players.