Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori collected a big-name scalp on the opening day of the Canadian Open, defeating three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka 6-3 3-6 6-3 on Monday.

Although the 37-year-old Wawrinka is no longer at his best – ranked 322nd in the world – he still put up a strong fight against his 23-year-old opponent, creating eight break point opportunities in the match while facing nine.

Ruusuvuori will play eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round in a tough matchup, while Slovakia's Alex Molcan will play fourth seed Casper Ruud after defeating American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.

Molcan's advantage was in his serve, winning 74 per cent (49-of-66) of his service points compared to 59 per cent (49-of-83) for McDonald.

In a clash between a pair of top-30 talents, Russia's Karen Khachanov got the better of Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3. He will play the winner between 13th seed Marin Cilic and Croatia's Borna Coric next.

Recent runner-up of the Atlanta Open Jenson Brooskby had no issues with Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, winning 6-2 6-3, and he will likely play Roberto Bautista-Agut in the second round as the Spaniard leads 7-6 (7-5) 2-1 with a break in the second set when a rain delay ended the day's play.

One of Canada's top hopes, Denis Shapovalov, will have his back up against the wall when his match resumes against Alex de Minaur, losing the first set 7-5, with the rain arriving in the middle of the second-set tiebreaker.

Jack Draper will head back onto the court with a set advantage against Hugo Gaston after winning the opener 6-2, although he will have to save a break point first up.

Serena Williams thinks she is "getting closer" to the light at the end of the tunnel after winning her first singles match in 430 days at the Canadian Open on Monday.

The 23-time grand slam champion beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3 6-4 in the opening round in Toronto, securing her first singles victory since a defeat of Danielle Collins at the 2021 French Open.

Williams returned from a one-year absence at Wimbledon last month after recovering from injury, but was beaten by Harmony Tan in the first round.

The long-awaited win in Toronto was her first since turning 40 and it gave the American a timely lift ahead of the US Open.

"I guess there’s just a light at the end of the tunnel," she said. “I don’t know, I’m getting closer to the light, so… lately that's been it for me. I can’t wait to get to that light."

When asked what "the light" means to her, she responded "freedom".

"I love playing though, so it’s like, amazing," she added. "But, you know, I can’t do this forever. 

"Sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments, and do the best that you can."

Williams became just the fourth player since 2000 to win a WTA-Tour level main-draw match after turning 40, along with Martina Navratilova, Kimiko Date-Krumm and her sister Venus Williams.

It also gave her the all-time lead for wins at the Canadian Open in the Open Era, this being her 35th victory at the event to break her tie with Chris Evert.

Serena Williams secured her first singles win since the 2021 French Open on Monday as she beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz at the Toronto Open.

Also her first victory since turning 40, Williams looked impressive as she beat her Spanish opponent 6-3 6-4 in just under two hours.

She even earned a standing ovation when facing break point in the fourth game of the second set, as she worked hard to stay in the point before smashing a trademark forehand winner to save the game.

Williams, whose last grand slam title came in 2017 at the Australian Open, will face either number 12 seed Belinda Bencic or Tereza Martincova in the second round.

She is competing in the tournament as part of preparations for the US Open, and sealed her first win since splitting with coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

The duo had worked together for 10 years, before Mouratoglou revealed they had gone their separate ways in April after Williams decided not to compete at the French Open, with Mouratoglou moving on to train Simona Halep instead.

Williams returned to action after almost a year away from the game in the WTA event in Eastbourne in June in the women's doubles, before competing in the singles at Wimbledon, losing to Harmony Tan in an exciting first round contest on Centre Court at SW19

The 23-time grand slam champion has been named on the entry list for the US Open having pulled out of last year's tournament with a torn hamstring, entering with a protected ranking of 16.

Daria Kasatkina continued her strong season on Sunday by defeating American Shelby Rogers 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-2 in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic.

Russia's Kasatkina made her deepest grand slam run earlier this year by reaching the semi-final of the French Open, where she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek, and with this singles title – the fifth of her WTA career – she has claimed a career-best ranking of ninth in the world.

Against Rogers, the story was how the effectiveness of Kasatkina's serve continued to improve the further the match went on.

In the hard-fought opening set, Kasatkina won just 53 per cent (26-of-49) of her service points, allowing two breaks of serve and then flailing in the tie-break to drop five consecutive points.

Something changed from that point on, with Kasatkina improving to take 69 per cent (18-of-26) of her service points in the second frame, and that jumped again to 76 per cent (16-of-21) in the decider as she either figured something out, or Rogers ran out of steam.

Kasatkina did not allow a single break point opportunity after the first set, while converting four of her six chances to take a double-break in both the second and third.

Rogers had not lost a single set in her four matches to make it to the final, putting the exclamation point on a terrific run from Kasatkina that included wins over world number 27 Elena Rybakina, world number six Aryna Sabalenka and world number three Paula Badosa.

Nick Kyrgios capped off a terrific week at the Washington Open by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 6-3 in the singles final, before combining with Jack Sock to also win the doubles 7-5 6-4 against the team of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

In the singles, Kyrgios' serve was overpowering against his Japanese opponent, winning 76 per cent (38-of-50) of his points on serve, and saving the only break point opportunity he faced, which came early in the opening set.

His return game was also sharp, collecting breaks of serve in the first game of each set to snatch all the momentum and keep Nishioka on the back foot and chasing all day.

Kyrgios finished with 12 aces to Nishioka's three, and finished the match just like he started it with a break of serve.

It caps off a tournament where he dropped only one set in his six matches – against Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-final – to win his first singles title since this same event back in 2019.

Just a few hours later, Kyrgios was back on the court with Sock contesting the doubles final, with the pair saving both break points they faced. 

After an even start, Kyrgios and Sock broke late in the first set, and then struck again to break in the opening game of the second set, going on to serve things out comfortably, never allowing Dodig and Krajicek to even reach deuce against their serve.

In doing so, Kyrgios became the first player to ever sweep both the singles and doubles in Washington.

He only had one doubles title before this season – back at the Lyon Open in 2018, also partnered with Sock – but Kyrgios has now won three in the past eight months, emerging triumphant with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at both the Australian Open and last month's Atlanta Open.

Liudmila Samsonova secured her second career singles title on the WTA Tour by defeating Kaia Kanepi in the final of the Citi Open.

Unseeded Russian Samsonova beat Estonian Kanepi 4-6 6-3 6-3 to take the title in Washington on Sunday.

It was Kanepi, the tournament's sixth seed, who struck first in a tight opening set with strong serving from both players, capitalising on the only break point opportunity in the 10th game.

While Samsonova won at least 70 per cent of her service points in each of the three sets, Kanepi's effectiveness dipped after the opener, with a 77 per cent (20-of-26) success rate in the first set, which dropped to 63 per cent (15-of-24) in the second and the third (12-of-19) to provide the Russian with an avenue back into the contest.

Kanepi led 3-2 in the second set, before Samsonova rattled off the next five games, securing a double break in the process and forcing a decider.

In a tight third frame, with Samsonova leading 4-3, she created three break point opportunities and only needed the first to grab a winning buffer, serving out the match for the title.

It is the 23-year-old's first singles title since her maiden victory at the German Open 14 months ago, and she only dropped two sets in the process while defeating fifth seed Elise Mertens, second seed Emma Raducanu, China's Wang Xiyu and Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.

World number one Daniil Medvedev strolled to victory for his first title of the year at the Los Cabos Open with a 7-5 6-0 demolition of reigning champion Cameron Norrie on Saturday.

The Russian, returning to hard-court tennis in Mexico this week ahead of his US Open title defence, pulled away after an injury timeout late in the first set to comfortably triumph against the 12th-ranked Briton.

Medvedev won every game after the timeout, taken for treatment on a hand issue, after scores were locked at 5-5, with both players having broken serve in the first set.

The third-seeded defending champion had no answers in a lopsided second set which only lasted 26 minutes.

This year's Australian Open runner-up, playing in his fourth final of the season, sent down 5-0 aces and converted six of 10 break points for the match to secure his 14th career title. He was exceptional on serve, with a 67 per cent first-serve win percentage.

The triumph capped an excellent week for Medvedev, who did not drop a set across five wins.

"Every match was very good, but the final match is always special," Medvedev said on court after the match. "It's always a high-level match and I'm really happy I managed to show some good levels and play some good shots."

Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios will take on unseeded Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the Washington Open final on Sunday after maintaining his unblemished record at this year's event with a 7-6 6-3 victory over Mikael Ymer on Saturday.

Kyrgios, who won in Washington DC in 2019, had played twice on Friday following rain delays on Thursday but found his passage through with 10 aces including one on match point to secure victory in one hour and 34 minutes.

"I didn’t play anywhere near my best tennis today," Kyrgios said. "I served pretty solid, but from the back of the court I didn’t play well at all. I'm just happy to be in the final once again."

Kyrgios is yet to drop serve throughout this year's tournament and has knocked off seeds Francis Tiafoe, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul along the way.

The Australian will take on Nishioka who stunned top seed Andrey Rublev 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes to secure a spot in his third career final, beating a top 10 opponent for the third time in his career.

Rublev blasted 21-8 winners but also hit 31-14 unforced errors, with the Japanese's consistency proving enough for victory.

Shelby Rogers continued her dream run at the Silicon Valley Classic with victory over ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova securing a spot in the final against last year's runner-up Daria Kasatkina who toppled Paula Badosa.

Unseeded 29-year-old American Rogers has knocked off top seed Maria Sakkari along with Amanda Anisimova and 2019 US Open winner Bianca Andreescu on her way to the decider.

Rogers is also yet to drop a set, maintaining that run against the higher-ranked Kudermetova for a 6-3 6-4 victory in one hour and 20 minutes.

The triumph marks Rogers' biggest final in her career and her first on tour in six years.

Rogers, who trailed 2-0 in the second set, broke Kudermetova's serve with her second match point to clinch victory.

Second seed Badosa was bundled out by Kasatkina 6-2 6-4 in 46 minutes in the other semi-final on Saturday.

Badosa did not appear 100 per cent physically throughout the match and Kasatkina capitalised to secure back-to-back finals in San Jose.

The Spaniard had three break points in the decisive game before Kasatkina converted her first match point.

Kaia Kanepi and Liudmila Samsonova both powered their way into the Citi Open final with comfortable victories on Saturday.

Sixth seed Kanepi ruthlessly swept aside Australian Daria Saville 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 13 minutes, moving her closer to her fifth career title. The 37-year-old Estonian blasted 18 winners for the match.

World number 60 Samsonova proved too good for China's Wang Xiyu, winning 6-1 6-1 in one hour and seven minutes. Samsonova's big hitting was a key feature behind her win with four aces and 17 winners.

Nick Kyrgios started his Friday by finishing off his third-round win against Reilly Opelka, and his business was not finished until after 1am local time when he defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (14-12) 6-2 in the quarter-final.

Due to length rain delays on Thursday, Kyrgios was one of five players forced to abandon their matches and return to finish them first thing on Friday, with Kyrgios and Russia's Andrey Rublev the only two to successfully navigate both.

Tiafoe defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 4-6 6-2 6-3 in the morning, but Kyrgios' ability to keep his service games short was a decisive factor, winning the ace count 35-14 and not conceding a single break all match.

Rublev had to deal with Maxime Cressy in the morning, winning 6-4 7-6 (10-8), setting up a quarter-final later at night against J.J. Wolf after the American defeated Holger Rune 7-5 4-6 6-3.

Rublev made his second match look far easier, cruising through 6-2 6-3 to earn a semi-final against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka after he needed over three-and-a-half hours to beat Daniel Evans 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5.

In an all-unseeded semi-final, Kyrgios will play Sweden's Mikael Ymer, who fought his way past Sebastian Korda 6-2 5-7 6-3 after the American beat Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 4-6 6-1 6-2 earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, down in Mexico at the Los Cabos Open, Daniil Medvedev earned his spot in the final by defeating Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6 (7-0) 6-1.

Medvedev will play England's Cameron Norrie for the title after he prevailed in arguably the match of the tournament against top-10 talent Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 3-6 6-3.

Despite being ranked fourth in the world, Paula Badosa came into her quarter-final showdown with the red-hot Coco Gauff as the underdog, but she played like a favourite en route to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory.

Usually one of her stronger weapons, Gauff's serve was a liability on Friday, with six double faults in the first set alone to drop the opening frame despite breaking Badosa twice.

In the second set, while Badosa was converting 92 per cent (11-of-12) of her accurate first serves into points, Gauff's figure was down at 53 per cent (eight-of-15) as the Spaniard's return game was at its best.

Badosa will meet seventh seed Daria Kasatkina in the semi-final after the Russian beat Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka 4-6 7-5 6-0. The longer the match went, the less effective Sabalenka became with her ability to return serve.

In the first set, which Sabalenka won, she was successful in 53 per cent (19-of-36) of the points against Kasatkina's serve, and that number plummeted to 14 per cent (two-of-14) in the decider.

Third seed and Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur was eliminated by ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-5) 6-2, and she will meet unseeded American Shelby Rogers in the second semi-final after she defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-4.

Meanwhile, in Washington at the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu felt the effects of her gruelling match 24 hours prior as she went down 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 to Liudmila Samsonova.

On Thursday, Raducanu played in the longest two-set match of the WTA season as she eventually made her way through two tiebreakers against Camila Osorio in two hours and 49 minutes, and she ran out of steam after another tough tie-break against Samsonova.

Samsonova will play China's Xiyu Wang in the semi-final after another upset, knocking out fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in convincing fashion 6-1 6-3.

Estonia's Kaia Kanepi booked her place in the second semi-final after a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 win against Anna Kalinskaya, where she will meet Daria Saville after the Australian got the better of Canada's Rebecca Marino 6-1 7-5. 

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Canadian Open as the Spaniard has not fully recovered from an abdominal tear. 

Nadal's bid to complete a rare clean sweep of the grand slams ended when he suffered an injury setback at Wimbledon last month.

The 22-time major champion pulled out ahead of a semi-final against Nick Kyrgios, who received a walkover and lost to Novak Djokovic in the championship match.

Nadal was due to return in Montreal next week, but on Friday revealed he will not travel to Canada to play in a tournament he has won five times.

The world number three wrote on Twitter: "From the vacation days and my subsequent return to training, everything has gone well these weeks. Four days ago I also started training the service and yesterday after training, I had a little discomfort that was still there today.

"We have decided not to travel to Montreal and continue with the training sessions without forcing ourselves. I sincerely thank the tournament director, Eugene [Lapierre], and his entire team for the understanding and support they have always shown me and today was no exception.

"I hope to play again in Montreal, a tournament that I love and that I have won five times in front of an audience that has always welcomed me with great affection.

"I have no choice but to be prudent at this point and think about health."

Nadal's withdrawal comes just over three weeks before the US Open gets under way at Flushing Meadows.

Djokovic has also withdrawn from the Montreal event, having been ineligible to enter Canada due to being unvaccinated against the COVID-19 virus.

Daniil Medvedev showed on Thursday why he is the top overall seed at the Los Cabos Open, comfortably handling the challenge of Ricardas Berankis in a 6-2 6-2 win.

The world number one gave Berankis no avenues into the match, winning 48 per cent (27-of-56) of his total return points, while also converting 88 per cent (21-of-24) of his own successful first serves into points.

Medvedev will meet Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the semi-final after he pulled off an impressive 6-2 6-4 victory against American Brandon Nakashima.

Kecmanovic's ability to serve his way out of trouble was the deciding factor, saving four of five break-point opportunities, while Nakashima could only save six out of 10.

Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime booked his spot in the second semi-final after defeating America's Steve Johnson 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

The 22-year-old winner – who now sits ninth in the world rankings – served up 17 aces in the contest, while Johnson, who is usually known for his serve, could only muster four.

Cameron Norrie was a straights-sets winner over Radu Albot, although he needed a second-set tie-break to get the job done in a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) triumph.

Meanwhile, Norrie's British compatriot Daniel Evans won a war of attrition against American Taylor Fritz at the Washington Open, pulling ahead 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 4-1 before the heavy favourite retired due to the oppressive conditions.

With rising temperatures, combined with spots of rain, the humidity threatened to claim a number of scalps as multiple players in Thursday's action took extended medical timeouts, before a serious downpour halted the rest of play.

The only other matches to reach their conclusion were Yoshihito Nishioka's 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-1) win against Karen Khachanov, and a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 triumph for Sweden's Mikael Ymer against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.

When play resumes, Nick Kyrgios will look to finish off Reilly Opelka after reaching the rain with a 7-6 (7-1) 2-1 lead, and Grigor Dimitrov won his first set 6-4 against Sebastian Korda.

Botic van de Zandschulp was the beneficiary of the break against Frances Tiafoe, winning the first set 6-4 before slowing down in a big way to drop the second 6-2, but he will get a chance to recharge his batteries before the decider.

Coco Gauff was too sharp with her return game for Naomi Osaka in the second round of the Silicon Valley Classic on Thursday, coming away with a 6-4 6-4 win.

Gauff – the world number 11 and tournament's sixth seed – created 12 break point opportunities in the match, while only allowing one for Osaka, despite eight double-faults.

Ultimately, Gauff won 41 per cent (29-of-71) of the points off Osaka's serve, while converting 85 per cent (28-of-33) of her successful first serves into points.

Earlier in the day in a major upset, top seed Maria Sakkari was eliminated in straight sets 6-1 6-3 by American Shelby Rogers. 

The world number three struggled with her serve throughout, landing only 45 per cent of her first serves, and winning just 52 per cent (12-of-23) of those points.

World number six Aryna Sabalenka needed three sets to defeat unseeded American Carolina Dolehide 5-7 6-1 7-5, and Russia's Veronika Kudermetova had less trouble dispatching Claire Liu 6-2 7-5 to set up an exciting match with Ons Jabeur in the quarter-final.

Meanwhile, in Washington at the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu played in the longest two-set match of the WTA season, defeating Camila Osorio 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 49 minutes.

Both women created at least a dozen break point opportunities, with four total breaks each as the young British star battled blisters on her hands.

Raducanu will play Liudmila Samsonova after the Russian eliminated Australia's Ajla Tomljanovich 4-6 6-3 6-2.

In the last match of the day, China's Xiyu Wang got the better of Croatia's Donna Vekic 4-6 7-5 6-1, and she will meet the winner between Tereza Martincova and Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-final.

Second and third seeds Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur eased into the Silicon Valley Classic quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Simona Halep and Jessica Pegula were bundled out of the Citi Open.

Last month's Wimbledon finalist Jabeur proved too good for American Madison Keys 7-5 6-1, winning in one hour and 22 minutes.

Jabeur, playing for the first time since Wimbledon, converted six of nine break points for the match, dominating the second set where she won 90.9 per cent first serve points.

Second seed Badosa survived a scare to win over qualifier Elizabeth Mandlik 6-2 5-7 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 31 minutes.

Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova was knocked out by American Amanda Anisimova 3-6 7-5 6-1, while last year's runner-up Daria Kasatkina beat Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-0.

Two-time major winner Halep was forced to retire due to illness and top seed Jessica Pegula was bundled out by Daria Saville at the Citi Open.

In warm conditions, the 30-year-old Romanian battled throughout the match but eventually retired down 7-5 2-0 to Anna Kalinskaya after one hour and six minutes.

Halep had fought back from a 4-0 deficit in the first set to square it up at 5-5, before losing the first set.

However, the former world number one succumbed to illness early in the second set, handing Kalinskaya her passage into the quarter-finals.

On a dramatic day for the Citi Open favourites, world number seven Pegula was eliminated by Saville in straight sets in one hour and 38 minutes, 7-5 6-4.

Pegula was not helped by a first-serve percentage of 44.8 per cent, while she struggled to convert break points, with the Australian saving nine of 10 for the match.

Saville's win means she is 3-3 against top 20 opponents this year, progressing into the last eight where she will face Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino.

Marino, who beat Venus Williams in her return to singles in the first round on Monday, knocked off Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-3 3-6 6-1.

Estonian sixth seed Kaia Kanepi progressed into the quarters where she will face Kalinskaya after beating China's Zhu Lin 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Second seed Hubert Hurkacz was a shock second-round casualty from the Citi Open on Wednesday after a straight-sets defeat to Emil Ruusuvuori.

World number 46 Ruusuvuori triumphed 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in one hour and 43 minutes to book a quarter-final spot.

Hurkacz, who is ranked 11th in the world and reached last year's Wimbledon semi-finals, fought hard but failed to capitalise on four break points throughout the match.

"He had an early break point, but then I was able to keep that service game and give myself a chance to break him and I was able to use it and then just try to keep my own serve," Ruusuvuori said.

"I just tried to hang in there and tried to stay as tough as [I] can."

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios defeated 14th seed Tommy Paul 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 25 minutes.

The Australian hit 29-21 winners, with the majority coming from his serve and forehand, sending down 15 aces, winning 84 per cent on his first serve.

Kyrgios, who broke Paul in his opening service game, converted three of four break points for the match, while the American failed to capitalise on any of his four.

Sixth seed Denis Shapovalov was bundled out in the second round by American wildcard J.J. Wolf 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in a major upset.

Third seed Taylor Fritz avoided an early exit with a 6-4 6-4 win over Australian Alexei Popyrin in one hour and 11 minutes, while fourth seed Reilly Opelka came from a set down to defeat Denis Kudla 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-4 in just over two hours. Opelka sent down 28 aces across the match.

Fifth seed Grigor Dimitrov got past Adrian Mannarino 6-1 3-6 7-5 and ninth seed Holger Rune brushed off Benoit Paire 6-3 6-2.

Francis Tiafoe defeated Christopher Eubanks 6-3 7-6 (7-2), while 13th seed Maxime Cressy fought back from an early deficit to get past Jack Sock 4-6 6-4 6-0 to set up a third-round clash with top seed Andrey Rublev.

There were defeats for 11th seed Alex de Minaur to Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-2, 12th seed Sebastian Baez against Sebastian Korda 6-1 6-4 and 15th seed Aslan Karatsev against Andy Murray's first-round conqueror Mikael Ymer 6-4 3-6 6-4.

At the Los Cabos Open in Mexico, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime had no troubles against local Juan Alejandro Hernandez Serrano, winning 6-3 7-5.

American sixth seed Brandon Nakashima also progressed into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-3 win over Max Purcell, while Miomir Kecmanovic beat Jordan Thompson 6-4 6-2.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.