MONTREAL — Clara Tauson is making waves at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.
The talented Danish athlete secured her second consecutive victory against a top-10 player on Tuesday, defeating No. 6 seed Madison Keys with a commanding score of 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals.
Tauson, who is seeded 16th, previously triumphed over No. 2 seed and Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek in the round of 16, showcasing her incredible skills.
This emotional win over Keys came just two days after Tauson learned of her grandfather’s passing. In an emotional interview on the court, she revealed she received the news Monday morning, shortly after her victory over Swiatek the previous night.
At just 22 years old, Tauson remains unbeaten in sets across four matches and is now only two victories away from claiming the biggest title of her career.
This result continues the trend of surprises at the WTA Tour 1000 event, with all top eight seeds failing to reach the semifinals.
The winner of Tuesday’s late match between Japan’s Naomi Osaka and No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina from Ukraine will go head-to-head with Tauson in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The other semifinal features rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko against No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
The champion of Thursday’s final will take home an impressive prize of $752,275.
In addition, tournament organizers have rescheduled the doubles final to Wednesday, likely to give players more time to travel to Cincinnati ahead of the next WTA 1000 tournament starting later this week. The American duo of Coco Gauff and McCartney Kessler will face the third-seeded team of Shuai Zhang from China and Taylor Townsend from the U.S.
Thanks to her remarkable run, Mboko has secured a spot in the main draw at the Cincinnati Open, although her participation remains uncertain. The main draw in Cincinnati kicks off on Thursday.
