Canadian fifth seed Denis Shapovalov was a major casualty in the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto after a straight-sets defeat to Francis Tiafoe.
Unseeded American Tiafoe swept aside the local 6-1 6-4 in one hour and 15 minutes to secure his third-round spot against 11th seed Gael Monfils who beat John Millman 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Tiafoe was only in the Toronto main draw as a lucky loser after being defeated in qualifying by Emil Ruusuvuori but he hit 14 winners in an emphatic display.
World number 10 Shapovalov was unable to generate any break points while Tiafoe reeled off five games in a row, with two breaks, to win the first set.
The Canadian continued to struggle with his serve in windy conditions, as the American world number 52 won 88 per cent (23/26) of points on his first serve.
Another local hope, ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, also was eliminated, going down 7-5 6-4 to Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
The Canadian hit six aces to Lajovic's none, but was undone by unforced errors at key times, with a double fault gifting the Serbian a 6-5 lead in the opening set.
Australian 12th seed Alex de Minaur also bowed out after a one-sided 6-1 6-1 defeat to Georgian world number 42 Nicolas Basilashvili.
Basilashvili sent down 6-2 aces and converted five of his six break points generated in an impressive display.
Australian qualifier Jack Duckworth booked a third-round ticket against top seed Daniil Medvedev after upsetting 16th seed Jannik Sinner, who won last week's Citi Open.
Fourth seed Andrey Rublev won through with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 victory over Fabio Fognini, while seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz progressed with a walkover after Kei Nishikori retired with a shoulder injury.
Eighth seed Diego Schwartzman beat Benoit Paire 7-5 6-1, while 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut handled Tommy Paul 6-3 6-4.
John Isner knocked out 13th seed Cristian Garin in three sets, while Lloyd Harris beat Feliciano Lopez in two and Karen Khachanov defeated compatriot Aslan Karatsev 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 to secure a third-round meeting with third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas pledged to help those affected by the fires in his homeland in his post-match press conference on Tuesday.
“My heart is with all the people of Greece,” Tsitsipas said. “I come from the south suburbs of Athens. When I was there a few days ago, I could see the fires from the south. Huge, giant clouds, smoke, which you could see from far, far away. It wasn't very nice. Even at the beach that day when I went to swim, you could see all the debris from the smoke and from the fires in the sea.”
Gauff reaches China Open fourth round with record-breaking win
Coco Gauff claimed her 47th hard-court win in WTA-1000 matches with a straight-sets victory over Katie Boulter in the third round at the China Open.
The American now has the most wins on the surface before turning 21 and needed just 85 minutes to see off her opponent, prevailing 7-5 6-2 on Sunday.
Gauff looked set to sail through the first set after breaking Boulter’s serve in the sixth game and taking a 5-2 lead, but the Brit fought back to level the score.
Gauff, who served four of her five aces in the opening set, rallied to win the final two games, with Boulter failing to stop her from converting set point on the third time of asking.
Back in her groove, the world number three cruised through the second, which included three love games, to book a meeting with either Naomi Osaka or fellow American Katie Volynets in the next round.
Data Debrief: Out on her own
Gauff's win over Clara Burel in the last round pulled her level with Caroline Wozniacki for the joint-most WTA-1000 match wins on hard court before the age of 21 since the format's introduction in 2009.
But she made light work of pushing herself top of that list as she stormed through, dropping her serve just once in the contest.
Gauff (100) has also become the second player to record 100+ break-point conversions at WTA-1000 events in 2024, along with Iga Swiatek (145), getting four out of a possible seven against Boulter.
Alcaraz already targeting next landmark after claiming 200th career win
Carlos Alcaraz is already eyeing up another major landmark, straight after registering his 200th ATP-Tour level win on Sunday.
The Spaniard beat Tallon Griekspoor at the China Open in straight sets, prevailing 6-1 6-2, to progress from the second-round tie.
Among the 29 players to have reached the top of the world rankings, Alcaraz is the second fastest to win 200 matches. He did so in his 252nd match, with only John McEnroe hitting the landmark sooner (245 matches).
Meanwhile, he is just the third player born in the 2000s to achieve that feat, after Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Alcaraz may have struggled to get back to his best since losing the Paris Olympics final to Novak Djokovic in August, but he looked at home on hard court once more in Beijing.
His win rate on the surface is 75.4%, and since the start of the 2020 season, he is one of only two players to hold two separate win rates of 75%+ on all three surfaces at ATP level, along with Djokovic.
Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, was proud to reach his latest achievement and said he is ready to start pushing to the next.
"I'm really happy about it - 200 wins is a great number," Alcaraz said after the match.
"But I am already looking for the third hundred. I just want to keep going, to keep rolling.
"I am looking forward to playing matches and to keep doing the things that I am doing."
Alcaraz will face seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals in Beijing.
Alcaraz brings up 200th career win by defeating Griekspoor
Carlos Alcaraz won an ATP Tour-level match for the 200th time as he defeated Tallon Griekspoor at the China Open.
World number three Alcaraz prevailed 6-1 6-2 on Sunday to hit another milestone in his already stellar career.
The four-time grand slam champion needed less than an hour to progress from the second-round tie.
Alcaraz struck four aces, converted five of seven break points and did not offer up a single chance for Griekspoor, who he also beat to claim his 100th career win, to break back in a dominant display.
The Spaniard has not been at his best since reaching the final of the Paris Olympics, which he lost to Novak Djokovic, but delivered a statement win as he aims to round out the 2024 season on a high note.
He will face Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals.
Data Debrief: Double-centurion
While Alcaraz has been unable to hold down his world number one ranking his year, the 21-year-old has still enjoyed a remarkable season, winning two grand slams (the French Open and Wimbledon) and claiming an Olympic silver.
Among the 29 players to have reached the top of the world rankings, Alcaraz is the second fastest to win 200 matches. He has done so in his 252nd match, with only John McEnroe hitting the landmark sooner (245 matches).
It took Rafael Nadal 255 matches to reach the milestone, Novak Djokovic 274 (the same as Jannik Sinner) and Roger Federer needed 302 to get there.
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