TORONTO : Coco Gauff advanced to the Canadian Open semi-finals without hitting a ball on Tuesday after Belinda Bencic withdrew from their quarter-final because of a hip injury.
The fourth-seeded American will face second seed Elena Rybakina in the last four after the Kazakh fought back to beat Naomi Osaka 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4 in a two-hour, 33-minute quarter-final.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon and 2026 Australian Open champion, was a set and a break down against former world number one Osaka before turning the match around in their first tour-level meeting.
The Japanese four-time Grand Slam champion broke in the opening game and held her advantage to take the first set. Osaka then moved 4-2 ahead in the second before Rybakina fought back to force a tiebreak, which she won to level the match.
Rybakina saved four break points in the deciding set before breaking Osaka twice in succession to take control and secure her place in the semi-finals.
“This first game of the match was really tough because it cost me the set,” Rybakina said. “In the second I was just trying to stay closer to the score, even if I’m losing.”
Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion, reached her 16th WTA 1000 semi-final after Bencic’s withdrawal and will have additional time to prepare for the clash.
The 22-year-old is seeking her first title of the season after finishing runner-up in Miami and Rome and reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Gauff has not dropped a set in Toronto and is also unbeaten against Rybakina in their only previous meeting, winning in three sets at the Canadian Open in 2022.
The winner will advance to the Toronto final.
