Katie Boulter defeated by Coco Gauff in straight sets in Montreal as Caroline Wozniacki is beaten on her comeback
Katie Boulter beaten 6-2 6-2 by Coco Gauff as Marketa Vondrousova defeats former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki and Iga Swiatek wins Watch the US Open live on Sky Sports from August 28 to September 10
Thursday 10 August 2023 07:25, UK
Katie Boulter's run at the National Bank Open in Montreal was ended by Coco Gauff, while Marketa Vondrousova extinguished Caroline Wozniacki's dream comeback.
British No 1 built on her strong form on grass by winning two matches in qualifying and then defeating Canadian Rebecca Marino in round one, all without dropping a set.
Sixth seed Gauff, fresh from winning the biggest title in her career in Washington last week, was a real step up in class, though, and the young American eased to a 6-2 6-2 victory.
- Watch The US Open live on Sky Sports and NOW
- Sky Sports announce all-star line-up for US Open
- Billie Jean King: Emma Raducanu must learn not to listen to criticism
Gauff raced into a 4-0 lead and, although the second set was more competitive, Boulter never really managed to get a foothold in the contest.
The consolation is that the 27-year-old will rise from her current career-high ranking of 72 and potentially break into the top 60 for the first time depending on other results.
Reigning Wimbledon champion Vondrousova was pushed by former world No 1 Wozniacki but managed to hold on for a 6-2 7-5 second-round win.
Wozniacki marked her return after more than three years away from the court with an opening-round victory over Kimberly Birrell, but looked outmatched early against the number nine seed.
Vondrousova dictated play in the first set, and looked set to coast to victory in the second as she served for a 4-0 lead.
However the Czech misfired, serving back-to-back double faults and opening the door for the 2018 Australian Open champion.
The 33-year-old took that opportunity to gain a 4-3 advantage and threaten a massive comeback.
But Vondrousova was ultimately able to right the ship and set up a meeting with Gauff in the next round.
In the third round, there will be a rematch of the French Open final between top-ranked Iga Swiatek and Czech Karolina Muchova.
Playing her first match of the North American hard-court swing, Swiatek was not at her best in the opening set against Karolina Pliskova but pulled away to win 7-6 (8-6) 6-2.
"This first match was a challenge, it's always a challenge especially against a player like that," Swiatek said during her on-court interview.
"She for sure used her experience in the first set, but I am happy that I could close it in a tiebreak, and in the second set I was more solid because I really wanted to reset, think about what I could do better and I am pretty glad that I did that."
Now she will try to engineer a repeat of her dramatic three-set win over Muchova in Paris, which earned her a fourth Grand Slam title.
Third seed Elena Rybakina survived a real test from a resurgent Jennifer Brady, coming through 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.
Former Australian Open finalist Brady has been dogged by injury for two years but has quickly hit her stride and was unlucky not to pull off a huge upset.
Elsewhere, Aryna Sabalenka and Danielle Collins earned straight sets wins over Petra Martic and Maria Sakkari respectively, while Leylah Fernandez, Daria Kasatkina, Belinda Bencic and Liudmila Samsonova also progressed to the third round.
