National Bank Open: Beatriz Haddad Maia sends Iga Swiatek out in pre-quarters

World no. 1 and top seed Iga Swiatek crashed out in the third round of the National Bank Open on Thursday. Beatriz Haddad Maia ousted the two-time French Open champion, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in three hours to move into the quarter-finals.

On what was a windy day in the Canadian city, Haddad Maia fared better than Swiatek when it came to winning first-serve and second-serve points. The left-hander won 70% of her first-serve points to the latterā€™s 63% and 58% of her second-serve points compared to 45%. In terms of winners and unforced errors, Swiatek had 10 more winners than her opponentā€™s 23 but she was also let down by the 28 unforced errors she hit which were more than twice as many as Haddad Maiaā€™s 12.

In reaching the quarters in Toronto, her first in an event of this stature, Haddad Maia also became the first woman from her country to make it this far in such a big event. Looking to better herself and seeking a place in the semi-finals, Haddad Maia will play 12th seed Belinda Bencic.

National Bank Open: Bianca Andreescu exits

The former champion in Toronto in 2015 ousted eighth seed Garbine Muguruza in their third-round match-up, 6-1, 6-3 in just 63 minutes.

Meanwhile, defending titlist Camila Giorgi also lost in the third round. Seventh-seeded American Jessica Pegula ended Giorgiā€™s title defence bid 3-6, 6-0, 7-5 in an hour and 57 minutes. Along the way, Pegula came from down a break and saved a match point in the deciding set.

Next up for Pegulaā€™s Yulia Putintseva. The Kazakh beat another American, Alison Riske, 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 37 minutes in their round-of-16 clash.

Third seed Maria Sakkari also lost in the third round at the hands of Karolina Pliskova. The Czech, seeded 14th, won 6-1, 6-7(9), 6-3 in two hours and 27 minutes. Pliskova will now play Qinwen Zheng. The Chinese player posted a 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 win over home favourite, Bianca Andreescu in their third-round encounter.

Lastly, Coco Gauff and Simona Halep will play for a semi-final berth at the National Bank Open. The American, seeded 10th this week, upset the sixth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) in their round-of-16 encounter. Halep, the 15th seed, took out Jil Teichmann, 6-2, 7-5 in their match that was scheduled in the initial session of the dayā€™s play.