Tuesday’s schedule in Toronto features several Major singles champions taking on recent tournament finalists. 2019 US Open champ Bianca Andreescu faces San Jose champ Daria Kasatkina. Four-time Slam champ Naomi Osaka plays Washington runner-up Kaia Kanepi. US Open champ Emma Raducanu faces defending champion Camila Giorgi. And another US Open champ, Sloane Stephens, plays Indian Wells runner-up Maria Sakkari.
In Montreal, many matches have been carried over from Monday due to rain, including Andy Murray against Taylor Fritz, which was previewed here. Also on Tuesday, Italy’s Matteo Berrettini takes on Pablo Carreno Busta.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time in both cities.
Camila Giorgi vs. Emma Raducanu (9) – Second on Centre Court in Toronto
Giorgi was a surprising champion of this event a year ago, as she was ranked outside the top 70 at the time. And she has failed to follow-up on that title run. Camila promptly lost her next four matches, and in 2022, she’s just 13-13. Of course Raducanu also won the biggest title of her career last summer, and has similarly struggled ever since, with a record of 11-13 on the year. In their first career meeting, the pressure will be on Giorgi, as she’s never before defended a title of this caliber. That makes Raducanu the favorite to advance in her Canadian debut.
Daria Kasatkina (11) vs. Bianca Andreescu – Not Before 7pm on Centre Court in Toronto
What a season Kasatkina is having. She is now 32-14, and is No.3 in the year-to-date rankings. Last week in San Jose, she defeated two top six players en route to the title (Badosa, Sabalenka). And at the same time, she’s influencing social change, as the Russian recently came out as gay, and spoke out against that subject remaining “taboo” in her home country. In her own home country, Andreescu achieved great success three years ago, winning this title just weeks before becoming a US Open champion. But the last few years have thoroughly tested Andreescu, as she’s battled injuries, COVID, and mental health issues. Just a week ago in San Jose, she retired mid-match due to back pain. In her first match in Toronto since her title run, it’s hard to imagine she’ll be fully healthy. A confident, happy, and in-form Kasatkina is a strong favorite to continue her winning streak despite their history. Bianca leads their head-to-head 2-0, which includes a three-set victory three years ago at this same event.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Pablo Carreno Busta vs. Matteo Berrettini (11) – This will be Berrettini’s debut at this event, while Carreno Busta is only 2-2 lifetime here. Their only previous meeting occurred at this year’s Australian Open, which Matteo claimed in straight sets.
Kaia Kanepi vs. Naomi Osaka – Kanepi lost the final of Washington on Sunday to Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 in the third. This will only be Osaka’s third match since May, and she’s coming off a straight-set loss last week in San Jose to Coco Gauff. When they played five years ago at the US Open, Kanepi prevailed 7-5 in the third.
Maria Sakkari (3) vs. Sloane Stephens – Stephens was up a set and 5-2 over Sofia Kenin on Monday before eventually prevailing 7-5 in the third on her sixth match point in a highly-dramatic affair. Sakkari was decisively defeated last week in San Jose by Shelby Rogers. This is their first career encounter.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
