Britain’s second-ranked male player, Cameron Norrie, has been eliminated from the Canadian Open following an unexpected second-round loss to Aleksandar Vukic, who is ranked 99th globally.
The 29-year-old was defeated by the Australian with scores of 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), and 6-3.
Norrie, whose ranking has slipped to 39 after reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in early July, has not secured a singles title victory since 2023.
Although he achieved some notable victories during the grass court season, he has struggled to maintain that performance on the hard courts, immediately trailing 3-0 in the first set against Vukic, also aged 29.
Norrie appeared to be unwell, requiring a blood pressure check during the second set, but persevered and managed to level the match.
However, his inability to capitalize on any of his three breakpoint opportunities in the rain-delayed final set ultimately led to his defeat against his unseeded competitor.
In the women’s tournament held in Montreal, Iga Swiatek, currently ranked number three in the world, secured her first win since claiming the Wimbledon title, achieving six service breaks against Chinese qualifier Guo Hanyu, resulting in a 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, overcame 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3, after saving consecutive match points.
The 27-year-old fought off breakpoint opportunities in the 10th game of the second set, subsequently recovering from a 5-2 disadvantage in the tie-break.
Osaka, representing Japan and ranked 49th worldwide, celebrated her first triumph against a top-20 player since her victory over Karolina Muchova at the Australian Open in January.
Now collaborating with Tomasz Wiktorowski, following her announcement on Monday of parting ways with coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Osaka secured two service breaks against Samsonova in the deciding set to clinch the win.
Having broken a sequence of four consecutive losses in three-set matches, she is set to compete against Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, after the Latvian player defeated Renata Zarazua of Mexico with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Emma Raducanu, the top-ranked British female player, advanced to the third round of the women’s tournament with a straight-set victory over Peyton Stearns.
Former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard was defeated by Belinda Bencic of Switzerland with a score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in what was the Canadian player’s last competitive match before retiring.
The 31-year-old had announced in July that the Montreal Open – held in her hometown – would be her final tournament before retiring from the sport.
“I recall being a young child, sitting in the stands, filled with hope and dreaming of playing on this court one day,” Bouchard stated.
“I developed my skills playing on these courts and others in and around Montreal, making it a truly full circle moment to conclude my career here,
“I want to express my gratitude to my mother, father, sisters, and brother for their sacrifices. I want you to know that when the crowd applauds me, they are applauding you as well. I would not be here without your support.”
