Barbora Krejcikova

Following up her impressive win over Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, the Slovakian brushed aside the All England Club champion 6-4 6-2 in just under 90 minutes at Roland-Garros.

Schmiedlova raced into a 3-0 lead and dug deep to hold off Krejcikova's fightback when she clawed it back to 4-4, getting a vital break in the final game to take the first set.

It was a much better start in the second by the Czech as she got a first-game break, but Schmiedlova put together a remarkable six-game winning run to put the match beyond any doubt.

She will face either Croatia's Donna Vekic or Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the final four.

Data Debrief: Schmiedlova loves an upset

Schmiedlova (world no. 67) is the lowest-ranked women's singles semi-finalist at the Olympics since tennis returned to the summer program in 1988 - Na Li (#42) in Beijing 2008 was the previous lowest.

She had to come from behind to edge out Paolini, but after a dominant performance in which she had no double faults, she will be backing herself to cause more problems in the next round. 

Swiatek, who became the first player from Poland to win an Olympic medal in tennis history at the Paris Games on Friday, withdrew due to fatigue. 

Meanwhile, Krejcikova, who returned to the top 10 in the world rankings after her success at the All England Club, cited a thigh injury for her decision not to travel to Canada.

"I'm sorry to announce that due to overall fatigue caused by the last couple of weeks on the court I need to withdraw from the tournament in Toronto," Swiatek said in a Tennis Canada news release.

"Due to an intense tennis schedule with the Olympics taking place this year and changing surfaces, I need more time to rest and recover in order to be ready to play the US swing in good health and at my best possible level."

Krejcikova was beaten in the quarter-finals in both the singles and doubles at the Games, and said she is looking after her health ahead of the U.S. Open.

"The past four weeks have been incredible; however, the intense schedule has taken a toll on my body, and I need to prioritise my health to ensure I can continue competing at my best," said Krejcikova.

"Thank you for your understanding and support, and I look forward to returning to the court soon."

Tennis Canada said other withdrawals included Jasmine Paolini, Maria Sakkari, Danielle Collins and Caroline Garcia following their participation in the Paris Olympics.

"We understand the unique honour of athletes in an individual sport representing their country at the Olympic Games and that players must do what is best for them in terms of their health, recovery and schedules," said Karl Hale, director of the Canadian Open.

Past grand slam champions Sofia Kenin and Slone Stephens moved into the main draw for the Toronto tournament.

The NBO's men's tournament in Montreal took a hit earlier this week with the announcement that both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz would also be missing the event.

The surprising 6-1 6-4 loss that a lacklustre Osaka suffered on Tuesday could be explained away by the fact the 23-year-old had not played any competitive tennis since pulling out of the French Open at the end of May.

All the same, it was a major upset as world number 42 Vondrousova took out the highest remaining seed in the draw – the Japanese star who lit the Olympic cauldron on Friday.

Osaka's exit, after previous shock defeats for top seed Ash Barty and number three Aryna Sabalenka, has raised the prospect of a shock champion, just as occurred five years ago at the Rio Games when Monica Puig of Puerto Rico caused a sensation.

Now at the quarter-final stage, there is one former grand slam champion left in the field and two finalists at that level, but it really looks like anyone's title.

VONDROUSOVA SENSES AN OPPORTUNITY

It was remarkably straightforward for Vondrousova at Ariake Tennis Park, as she cruised through the opening set and soon reeled in Osaka's early break in the second.

Osaka saved two match points when serving to stay in the contest, but not a third, planting a backhand wide.

Considering Vondrousova reached the French Open final two years ago, in front of packed grandstands rather than the empty seats in Tokyo, it was no surprise she hesitated when asked whether this win over Osaka was the biggest of her career. It probably doesn't have that cachet, good a win though it was.

"Of course it's one of the biggest," Vondrousova said.

"Naomi is a great player, she has so many grand slams, so I knew it would be a tough match. But I'm just very happy with my play. I played amazingly in the first set, and then the second set was really tough. I'm just happy to be through.

"I think she was struggling a bit with my serving. Also, I use drop-shots very well. I'm just very happy with my game today."

She faces Spain Paula Badosa next and said: "It's very open now. I think every girl is playing really well. Now it's the quarter-final, so we'll see."

HAS SVITOLINA'S TIME ARRIVED?

A fixture in the top 10 over recent seasons, Svitolina has been unable to transfer her regular tour form onto the major stage on a consistent basis.

Maybe the Olympics will be a platform towards success on that stage, with Svitolina now the highest seed remaining in the draw, at number four. The Ukrainian is also on a high on the personal front, having married French tennis star Gael Monfils shortly before heading to Tokyo.

Two semi-finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2019, have been her deepest runs in the majors, and this season has been one of diminishing returns, with a fourth-round run in Australia followed by a third-round Roland Garros exit and a round-two loss at Wimbledon.

Svitolina beat Maria Sakkari of Greece 5-7 6-3 6-4 on Tuesday, setting up a quarter-final against Italian Camila Giorgi who won 6-4 6-2 against Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova.

"I don't think I'm a favourite because there are lots of good players here and everyone is quite equal," Svitolina said.

A MUG SHOT?

Should Spain's Garbine Muguruza be considered the favourite from this point? With French Open and Wimbledon titles in her trophy room, Muguruza has shown she has what it takes to triumph on a big stage, and a clinical 6-4 6-1 win over Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck on Tuesday was just the job.

She goes on to face Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who edged past Croatian Donna Vekic.

Belinda Bencic of Switzerland caused a surprise by ousting the in-form reigning French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, springing a 1-6 6-2 6-3 win that means there will be no repeat of the Roland Garros final in the quarter-finals.

That had been on the cards, but Bencic will be the player who takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the final four.

Pavlyuchenkova scored an impressive 6-1 6-3 victory over Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain, the player who knocked out Barty in round one.

Russian Olympic Committee's Pavyluchenkova is looking to harness the form that took her to a maiden slam final, describing her Paris run as "a great experience to have".

"But every week is a new week and this is a new event," said the 30-year-old. "The Olympic Games is a very special event. It's different. It's nothing like the others."

A thumping 6-3 6-1 victory against Russian Olympic Committee's Karen Khachanov was the perfect way for world number five Zverev to land the biggest title of his career.

He won 10 of the last 11 games of his semi-final against world number one Djokovic and carried that form into Sunday's title match, brushing aside the threat across the net.

It makes him Germany's first men's singles champion at the Olympics. Steffi Graf won the women's title as part of a calendar Golden Slam in 1988, and four years later Boris Becker and Michael Stich teamed up to take doubles gold.

For the man who won the ATP Finals in 2018 and reached last year's US Open title match, this marked a step forward in a career many expect will eventually feature grand slam titles.

He secured a swift break in the first set against Khachanov, who was outstanding in the semi-finals against Pablo Carreno Busta but could not impose his game in the gold-medal match.

Another break followed and the set was gone in 43 minutes.

The second set rushed by in a mere 36 minutes, with Zverev against striking early and never looking back.

He created two break points in the second game of that set, and although Khachanov saved them, a third soon followed and the Russian netted on the forehand.

The momentum was all one way and there was never a moment when Khachanov, ranked 25th by the ATP, looked as though he might pose some danger. 

Zverev gave himself a first match point when he punched away a backhand volley, and the glory belonged to the German when Khachanov slapped a forehand into the net on the next point.

BENCIC DENIED GOLDEN DOUBLE

Belinda Bencic was the surprise champion in the women's singles and the Swiss had a chance to land a second gold medal on Sunday when she and Swiss partner Viktorija Golubic lined up in the doubles final.

It was not to be for Bencic and Golubic, however, as they were soundly beaten by the prolific Czech pair of Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

A 7-5 6-1 win for the reigning French Open champions meant Bencic and Golubic were left with the silver medal.

But there was little in the way of regret for the Swiss pair, with Bencic showing off both her gold and silver medals after the match, saying: "We are overjoyed. We will fly back on Monday with other medallists. It's a great feeling to know people are waiting and they acknowledge the medals we won for our country.

"The week here was incredibly beautiful. We experienced so many emotions, and it's great to go back and share all of these emotions with everyone at home.

"It's not just about the medals or the titles, it's about the memories you create that will last forever. To share this with Viki is unbelievable.

"The whole week I never felt like I was in a normal tournament or playing alone. She was alongside me the entire way. I always tell her we won this gold medal together as well. When we will be 80 years old and have a coffee, we will talk about this moment and I cannot wait for that."

The reigning Wimbledon champion recovered from losing the opening set at Roland-Garros, where she eventually prevailed 4-6 6-0 7-6 (7-3) in just under three hours.

Krejcikova has fond memories of Court Philippe-Chatrier, lifting the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen for her maiden singles slam three years ago, but fell behind after she was broken three times in the opening set.

Nevertheless, the Czech came roaring back with a bagel to set up a deciding set, which came down to a tie-break, before she held her nerve to set up a second-round clash with Wang Xinyu.

Data Debrief: Eight straight wins for Krejcikova

It was not easy, but the reigning Wimbledon champion eventually built on her momentum from SW19, stretching her singles winning streak to eight matches.

Although beaten by eventual gold medallist Belinda Bencic in round three in Tokyo three years ago, Krejcikova did triumph in the women's doubles alongside compatriot Katerina Siniakova.

She will hope that previous podium experience will help drive her towards crowning a memorable year with another gold in Paris.