Osaka powers into Canadian Open semis, sets clash with Tauson

TORONTO: Naomi Osaka stormed into her first Canadian Open semi-final with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over 10th seed Elina Svitolina on Tuesday, marking her first WTA 1000 semi-final since Miami in 2022.

The four-time Grand Slam champion took full advantage of Svitolina’s unforced errors, breaking twice to take early control. Although she briefly lost serve, Osaka quickly regained momentum to close out the first set. The second set was tighter, but the Japanese star converted two more break points to seal the win in just over an hour.

“I think for me, I’m just having a lot of fun playing and I’m really glad to be here,” said the 27-year-old, who now faces Denmark’s Clara Tauson in the last four.

Tauson continued her giant-killing run in Montreal, following up her upset of Iga Swiatek with a 6-1, 6-4 win over sixth seed Madison Keys. The 16th seed was clinical in the first set and maintained her composure to finish off the match in under 70 minutes.

On the men’s side, American Ben Shelton advanced to the semi-finals with a victory over Alex de Minaur, continuing his strong form in the tournament.