Abanda’s tourney ends; night session rained out
Last Canadian in women’s singles draw laments not being more aggressive
The last vestige of Canadian content in the Rogers Cup women’s tennis championships disappeared Wednesday when thirdseeded Sloane Stephens of the U.S. defeated Montrealer Françoise Abanda 6-0, 6-2 in second-round action.
Stephens, who was making her hardcourt debut this season after a shocking loss to Donna Vekic at Wimbledon last month, wasn’t at her best. But the American needed only 80 minutes to get the win, which included an eight-minute washroom break for Abanda between sets and a brief delay dealing with a light drizzle.
Abanda said she had the wrong strategy for the match.
“If I had to play it again, I would try to impose my game from the start,” Abanda said. “I was too defensive. I really let her push me too much. But I think with more experience I would do differently. I didn’t have enough experience.
“It was the first time (I’ve played a top-five player), but she plays against the top-10 players every week. I don’t,” Abanda said. “I’m not in the same position. It was a good match for me to have more experience. Next time I will know how to manage the match better.”
Stephens was overly kind in her appraisal of Abanda.
“I think she’s a great player,” Stephens said. “Honestly, she’s young. Obviously she needs more experience, playing more at this level. But I think that just comes with time. It happens to all of us, so it’s not anything to be too worried about.
“She’ll continue to get better as long as she listens to her coaches, does everything that everyone is supposed to do: work hard, have fun. I think she’s on the right track.”
Stephens said she was glad the rain held off, but said there was another problem to overcome.
“I think what was kind of weird about it, there are, like, piles of bugs on the court after (the rain),” said Stephens. “That was really disgusting. But they ’re, like, gnats. Did you see? It was so weird. It rained, then they came out of nowhere. It was like a blizzard of bugs. That was probably the most disgusting thing I’ve ever encountered. That was harder than, like, the actual drops of rain. I felt that everything that was, like, dropping on me was a bug. Yeah, not fun.”
The rain did fall in the evening, halting play and creating a logistical nightmare for organizers.
Thursday is always the busiest day of the tournament with 16 players battling for the eight quarter-final spots. Four of those 16 spots are still empty and topseed Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka are among those who might be forced to play two matches in one day.
If you wanted to see Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber, you had to arrive early Wednesday and not blink.
Alizé Cornet of France defeated the fourth seed from Germany 6-4, 6-1 and the result shouldn’t have been a surprise if you looked at the players’ schedules. Kerber was playing her first match since winning on the grass at Wimbledon, while Cornet has been busy. She won the Swiss Open on clay — defeating Eugenie Bouchard in the semifinals — and also played in Moscow. And while Kerber had a bye in the first round, Cornet had a match to become accustomed to the courts.
“I think it’s my first top-five win of the season (and) what a top five,” Cornet said. “She just won Wimbledon. She has had an amazing season so far. I’m really glad and really proud that I could win today. It also shows me that I can play good on every surface. Clay is my favourite one because I grew up on this surface, but I can be also very efficient on hard court.
“It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the U.S. swing, because it’s a long one,” Cornet added. “You have to be on top for four weeks. It starts pretty well for me, so I’m happy.”
Maria Sharapova hasn’t played since losing in the first round at Wimbledon, but she appears to be in top form. She needed only 76 minutes to beat the 12th seed, fellow Russian Daria Kasatkina. Sharapova has lost only five games in two matches.
Things should get a little tougher for the former No. 1 Thursday. Next up for Sharapova is sixthseeded Caroline Garcia of France. Sharapova enjoys a 4-2 lifetime edge over Garcia, but the Frenchwoman won their most recent match this year on the clay at Stuttgart.
Ninth-seeded Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic lost to Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-2. Bertens is No. 18 in the rankings.
Bertens was joined in the round of 16 by countrywoman Elise Mertens, the 14th seed. Mertens had a letdown in the middle of her match, but finished strong to beat Shuai Zhang of China 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-0.
Ashleigh Barty of Australia, the 15th seed, defeated Alison van Uytvanck of Belgium 7-6(7), 6-2.
If I had to play it again, I would try to impose my game from the start