Defending champ Rafael Nadal wins Rogers Cup opener

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal opened his Rogers Cup title defense Wednesday, beating England's Daniel Evans 7-6 (6), 6-4 in a second-round match delayed by rain three times.

After rain delays of six and 30 minutes, Nadal fought off two set points in the first-set tiebreaker. Play was stopped for 1 hour, 56 minutes with Nadal leading 2-0 in the second set.

"All the matches are difficult here," Nadal said. "It was a tough first set. Then in the second, I was able to take advantage at the beginning, but then he broke me back."

The 33-year-old Spanish star, a four-time Rogers Cup champion, will face Argentina's Guido Pella in the third round. Pella beat Moldova's Radu Albot 6-3, 2-6, 76 (2).

Second-seeded Dominic Thiem beat Canada's Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Coming off a victory on clay at the Generali Open in his native Austria, Theim will face 14th-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia,

Cilic topped Australia's John Millman 6-3, 6-4.

Felix Auger-Aliassime won an all-Canadian match when Milos Raonic retired because of a back injury. Auger-Aliassime won the first set 6-3, and Raonic took the second 6-3 before stopping play.

Poland's Hubert Hurkacz upset fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, France's Richard Gasquet beat fifthseeded Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (4); France's Adrian Mannarino, topped 11th-seeded Borna Coric of Croatia, 6-2, 6-1; ; and Cristian Garin of Chile knocked off 12th-seeded American John Isner 6-3, 6-4.

Sixth-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia edged Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2; seventh-seeded Fabio Fognini beat American qualifier Tommy Paul 7-6 (3), 6-3; eighth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia topped Kyle Edmund of Britain 6-3, 6-0; and 10th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain edged Diego Schwartzman of Argentina 6-2, 7-5.

Nadal, Federer joining Djokovic on ATP leadership board

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are joining Novak Djokovic on the ATP Player Council, bringing the Big Three together to reshape a board that has been roiled by conflict.

The governing body of men's tennis announced Thursday that Federer and Nadal were elected along with doubles specialist Jurgen Melzer. They'll fill spots vacated after Robin Haase, Jamie Murray and Sergiy Stakhovsky resigned from the board before Wimbledon.

Djokovic addressed his frustration with the player council in pre-tournament comments at Wimbledon. He says the ATP's governance structure prevented players from making "significant changes." Stan Wawrinka has also criticized the ATP's leadership, saying in a published letter that it was plagued by "political chaos" and "numerous conflicts of interest."

The power struggle on the council included its decision in March not to renew the contract of ATP CEO Chris Kermode, who has clashed with Djokovic. Board member Justin Gimelstob resigned after he was sentenced to probation in April for attacking a former friend in Los Angeles.

Former ATP executive Weller Evans filled Gimelstob's seat. The position of coaches' representative on the council remains open.

Serena Williams advances in Rogers Cup

Serena Williams won her first match since losing the Wimbledon final, beating Elise Mertens of Belgium 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday night in the second round of the Rogers Cup.

The 37-year-old Williams has won the event three times, all in Toronto, and has a 31-4 match record.

"I feel like my movement is great — been working on my fitness, so I felt like it really was able to shine through today," Williams said. "I'm loving going out there, and I'm loving kind of running. So it's a good thing."

In the third round, she'll face Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova — a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Zhang Shuai of China.

"Now that I'm just injury-free, I'm just enjoying being able to train, and I haven't been able to do it since January, really," said Williams, seeded eighth. "So I just think that the fact that I can train and practice and get in the gym is really going to be helpful for me."

Wimbledon champion Simona Halep of Romania beat American qualifier Jennifer Brady 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5).

The winner last year in Montreal, Halep lost a 4-0 lead in the third set when Brady won five straight games. Halep broke Brady for the third time in the set to go up 6-5, but Brady broke back to force the tiebreaker.

"It was a very, very tough one," Halep said. "I expected it because I knew that she's going to serve big and also the forehand is big. I didn't feel 100% ready for the tournament because I had a long break (after Wimbledon). But I'm really pleased with the way it was today, the fact that I fought till the end."

The 26-year-old Halep will face Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. Kuznetsova beat Donna Vekic of Croatia 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Second-ranked Naomi Osaka of Japan reached the third round when German qualifier retired because of a left abdominal injury. Osaka led 6-2 in her first match since losing in the first round at Wimbledon.

Canada's Bianca Andreescu beat Russia's Daria Kasatkina 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. On Tuesday night, the 19-year-old Andreescu beat fellow Canadian Eugenie Bouchard.

Third-ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic also advanced, beating American qualifier Alison Riske 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-2

Poland's Iga Swiatek beat 15thseeded Caroline Wozniacki 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the late match. Swiatek will face Osaka.

No. 16 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia reached the third round when Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain retired with a hip injury while trailing 7-5, 3-1. Kontaveit will play Pliskova.

Victoria Azarenka of Belarus was eliminated, falling 7-5, 7-5 to Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, the 2017 Rogers Cup winner, moved onto the third round with a 6-3, 36, 6-3 victory over Katerina Siniakova, and 2015 champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland edged Julia Goerges 5-7, 6-3, 6-4. Bencic and Svitolina will face each other Thursday.