Barty suffers shock 2nd-round loss in Toronto Kyrgios reverts to type with towel tantrum in Montreal
TORONTO, Aug 7, (RTRS): World number one Ash Barty’s preparations for the US Open got off to a rocky start as the Australian suffered a shock 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4 loss to American Sofia Kenin in the second round of the Rogers Cup.
French Open champion Barty, playing for the first time since falling in the last 16 at Wimbledon, was far from her best and Kenin took full advantage, recording her first victory in four meetings with the Australian.
World number 29 Kenin failed to serve out the opening set at 5-4 but did not let that setback derail her, remaining poised the rest of the way even as Barty nearly rallied back from big deficits in the second and third sets.
Kenin led 4-0 in the second only for Barty to win three straight games and get back on serve. In the decider, Kenin broke twice early for a 4-1 lead and Barty again threatened but finally ran out of tricks on the fourth match point.
With the loss, Barty could lose her number one ranking if Naomi Osaka wins her second-round match on Wednesday or if Czech Karolina Pliskova reaches the semifinals.
Marie Bouzkova claimed the biggest win of her young career with a 6-2, 7-5 upset of seventh seeded Sloane Stephens to close out the action on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old Czech will next face either 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko or hard-hitting Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
In other matches, seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was eliminated in the first round with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to Spaniard Carla Suarez-Navarro.
Williams, who has now lost four consecutive matches, was ultimately undone by a slew of unforced errors and double faults that allowed Suarez-Navarro to reel off the final four games.
Indian Wells champion Bianca Andreescu beat former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in an all-Canadian first-round clash while fifth-seeded Dutchwoman Kiki Bertens reached the last 16 with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Francesca Di Lorenzo.
Croatia’s Donna Vekic beat American 14th seed Madison keys 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in the first round while Wimbledon quarter-finalist Zhang Shuai beat Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 7-6(5), 6-2 and will next face Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, who beat Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-2, 6-2.
Among the other players to reach the Round of 32 in Toronto, which is part of the US Open Series leading up to the year’s final Grand Slam, were Czech Katerina Siniakova, German qualifier Tatjana Maria and Polish qualifier Iga Swiatek.
Meanwhile, Nick Kyrgios looked to have turned over a new leaf in recent weeks, his playful banter with fans and improved focus helping him produce some of his best tennis, but his dark side returned in Montreal on Tuesday thanks to a row over a white towel.
The volatile Australian, who won the Citi Open in Washington on Sunday, was dumped out of the opening round of the Rogers Cup by Britain’s Kyle Edmund 6-3, 6-4 after an angry exchange with the umpire saw him collect a code violation for an obscenity.
Kyrgios had asked the umpire before the match if he could be given a white towel instead of the tournament’s branded one and the 24-yearold threw a tantrum when he realised five games into the match his request had not been met.
A ball boy finally handed Kyrgios a white towel, but it did little to help the Australian’s cause with Edmund putting on a serving masterclass to advance.
Kyrgios’ outburst comes after the Australian seemed to be reinventing himself as a crowd favourite in the weeks following his Wimbledon defeat by Rafa Nadal.
The superb tennis Kyrgios played in that match won him new admirers and the Australian has fed off the crowd at subsequent tournaments, sharing jokes with fans and even asking them where he should serve.
Big-serving American John Isner fired down 26 aces to help secure a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(6) win over Australian Jordan Thompson.
The 12th seed, who had lost three of his four tiebreaks in the two weeks leading into the event, put an end to the tense battle when he fired down an ace on his third match point to set up a clash with Chilean Cristian Garin.
Canadian teenager Felix AugerAliassime also secured a spot in the second round of the US Open tuneup with a 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(3) win over compatriot Vasek Pospisil.
Awaiting 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime is 17th-seeded fellow Canadian Milos Raonic, the latter having won their only career meeting last year in Indian Wells.
Third seeded German Alexander Zverev won 80 percent of his first serve points to dispatch Cameron Norrie 7-6(4), 6-4 and set up a secondround meeting with Nikoloz Basilashvili, who took out Jan-Lennard Struff to advance.
British qualifier Dan Evans faces a tough second-round clash against top seed and defending champion Rafa Nadal after beating Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 7-6(6).
Croatia’s Marin Cilic, the 14th seed, got past American qualifier Bradley Klahn 6-3, 7-6(7) to advance, while Argentine Guido Pella upset Belgian 15th seed David Goffin 6-4, 7-6(4).