Rybakina defeats Osaka, advances to Canadian Open semifinals to play Gauff

What the report says

Elena Rybakina rallied to beat Naomi Osaka in the Canadian Open quarterfinals in Toronto on Tuesday, advancing to the semifinals where she will face Coco Gauff. The second-seeded Kazakh won 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 after falling behind by a set and a break in a match that lasted two hours and 33 minutes, according to Al Jazeera’s report based on Reuters coverage.

The result came in the first tour-level meeting between the two former Grand Slam champions. Osaka started strongly, taking the opening set and building a 4-2 lead in the second, but Rybakina steadied herself, edged the tiebreak, and then held off a late push in the deciding set. She saved four break points before breaking Osaka twice to close out the match.

Gauff reached the last four without playing after Belinda Bencic withdrew from their quarterfinal with a hip injury. The American, the 2023 US Open champion, is seeking her first title of the season and has yet to lose a set in Toronto. The matchup matters because it pits two top players with recent major success against each other for a place in the final, and the winner will move one step closer to a WTA 1000 title.

The only previous meeting between Gauff and Rybakina also came in Toronto, where Gauff won in three sets in 2022.