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 latter’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 opponent’s 23 but she was also let down by the 28 unforced errors she hit which were more than twice as many as Haddad Maia’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 Giorgi’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 Pegula’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 day’s play.