The third round of the Canadian Open in Montreal produced another wave of seed eliminations on Thursday, while the favorites in the women's draw at Toronto confirmed their status without breaking a sweat. Three more men's seeds fell in a single day, pushing the upset count to extraordinary levels for a Masters 1000 event.
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Montreal, where seeds go to fall
Cameron Norrie delivered the upset of the day, eliminating third seed Alex de Minaur 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-1 after saving a match point on a double fault from the Australian at 5-2 in the second set. Earlier in the day, 20th seed Rafael Jodar dominated 11th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-3 in a one-sided affair where the Italian never found an answer to the Spaniard's baseline consistency. Frances Tiafoe, the 15th seed, was forced to retire against Arthur Rinderknech after just eight games at 6-2, 2-0 due to a wrist injury. The Frenchman was already in full command before the American's withdrawal.
The survivors among the seeds
Jiří Lehečka, the eighth seed, dispatched Alexander Blockx 6-3, 6-4 in two straightforward sets to book his place in the round of 16. The Czech was never troubled and has shown consistent form since the start of the hard-court season. Arthur Fils, the 18th seed, swept past Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-2 in just 65 minutes, dictating a pace the Argentine could never match. The Frenchman will face Norrie in the round of 16 in what promises to be a compelling clash between two players riding momentum.
The men's draw now looks unrecognizable. Ben Shelton, the fifth seed and defending champion, remains the only top-5 seed still standing. Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, De Minaur and Andrey Rublev have all been eliminated, in addition to the withdrawals of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Shelton must still navigate past Zizou Bergs on Friday to continue his title defense.
Toronto, the favorites deliver
The contrast with Montreal is striking on the women's side. Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, defeated Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 20 minutes to extend her hard-court winning streak to thirteen consecutive matches, the longest on the WTA tour this season. The Belarusian showed impressive composure in the key moments, reinforcing her status as the favorite in Toronto.
Iga Swiatek, the seventh seed, dropped just three games against Viktorija Golubic, cruising to a 6-2, 6-1 victory in 67 minutes. The Pole is building momentum as the tournament progresses and appears to be rediscovering her best form ahead of the US Open. Jessica Pegula, the third seed, dismantled Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 6-0, while Amanda Anisimova, the eighth seed, had to battle past Nikola Bartunkova 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 after dropping the opening set. All four players advanced to the round of 16.
Key numbers from Thursday
In Montreal, the seed eliminations continue to pile up. Norrie hit 41 winners and won 111 points in his upset of De Minaur. In Toronto, Sabalenka carries her unbeaten hard-court run to 13 consecutive wins, the longest such streak on tour this season.
