In a lengthy first-round battle between two players from Germany, Laura Siegemund came out on top over Tatjana Maria on Monday at the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Similar to their three-set thriller in 2023 at Warsaw, Siegemund came away with the victory. This time, she prevailed 7-5, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (2) despite Maria earning eight aces to her one — and registering seven double faults to Maria’s three during their nearly three-and-a-half-hour match.
Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu, ranked No. 33 in the world, eased into the second round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse. Coming off a trip to the semifinals in last week’s DC Open, Raducanu staved off five break points in her opening service game before winning the last five games to close out the first set. She then earned a crucial break to take a 5-4 lead in the second before serving out for the match.
“Elena is a good friend of mine and it’s difficult to play someone you know, but I’m happy with how I put that to one side,” Raducanu said, per Sky Sports. “It’s also good to back up a good week last week in DC.”
Russian qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova lost the first set to 20-year-old Canadian wild card Kayla Cross before finding her groove and finishing out the last two sets to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in just under two hours. Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva also needed three sets to defeat China’s Wang Yafan, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4.
Most early first-round matches ended in straight sets. Hailey Baptiste, Russia’s Anna Blinkova, Japan’s Naomi Osaka, New Zealand’s Lulu Sun, Czechia’s Marie Bouskova, Germany’s Eva Lys, China’s Guo Hanya and 34-year-old Canadian Rebecca Marino each earned straight-set triumphs.
–Field Level Media
