Clara Tauson was reduced to tears while revealing some personal news after reaching the semi-finals of the Canadian Open. The young Dane upset the odds to beat Madison Keys in the last eight, having dumped out Iga Swiatek in the previous round. She will face Naomi Osaka for a place in the final against either Victoria Mboko or Elena Rybakina.
Speaking after her victory over Keys, Tauson was visibly emotional as she revealed that she was dealing with a personal tragedy. Her grandfather died earlier this week and the 22-year-old was only informed the day before her quarter-final showdown. She fought back tears as she dedicated the result to her late family member.
“I’m still in shock, two days ago my grandfather unfortunately passed away so I really wanted to win for him today,” said Tauson before taking a break to compose herself as the crowd began to cheer for her.
She continued: “I’m definitely not done [at this tournament]. I was told the day after I beat Iga, so yesterday, and I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him. Hopefully he’s watching.”
Tauson made a flying start against Keys, fending off two break points in the very first game. Her rival struggled to get going and produced two double-faults en route to dropping serve in game four, handing Tauson a crucial advantage.
She wasted no time in emerging as the dominant hitter in the opening set and needed just 27 minutes to claim it. The second set proved more challenging, with Keys securing an early break before missing a sitter for a second break point.
It gave Tauson the opportunity to break back and she followed through to secure a memorable victory. Keys pushed hard to reduce the deficit but it was not enough to prevent an upset defeat.
Having beaten Swiatek and Keys in the previous two rounds, Tauson has secured multiple wins over top-10 players at a single tournament for the first time in her career.
She will be hoping to maintain her impressive form against Osaka, who beat Elina Svitolina in straight sets to book her place in the semi-finals.
Tauson has only faced Osaka once before, with the pair meeting in the final of the ASB Classic earlier this year. On that occasion, Osaka was forced to retire due to injury after winning the opening set.
Looking ahead to their next meeting in Toronto, the Japanese player said: “She’s really tough. I played her in Auckland this year and I had to stop halfway because I was injured. I’m really excited that I’m healthy and I hope that it’s a good match.”
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