TORONTO: Stanislas Wawrinka had to pass a stern test lasting two hours before emerging with a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (10/8) victory over Mikhail Youzhny for a third-round berth at the Toronto Masters.
The second-seeded two-time Grand Slam champion was joined in the third round on Tuesday by fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Croatian Borna Coric 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the only other second-round match of the day.
Berdych was caught on the back foot in his opening set against Coric, with the Croatian losing a mere four points on serve.
But Berdych found his game in the second set, winning five straight games to squeeze into a deciding third set where he prevailed.
Wawrinka and savvy 34-year-old Youzhny last played in 2010, with the Russian winning their last two meetings from a set down at Miami and the US Open.
Youzhny again proved to be a tough customer, missing a chance to take the contest to a third set but forcing Wawrinka into errors on two match points before the Swiss put it away on this third.
In first-round action, Gael Monfils followed up his first tournament title in more than two years by barreling through to victory.
The flamboyant Frenchman, seeded 10th and fresh off his triumph in Washington, defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-3.
The often-injured Monfils said that he had just heard the news that Roger Federer’s 2016 season was over, as the Swiss great will miss Rio and the US Open rehabbing a knee injury.
French 13th seed Lucas Pouille joined Monfils in advancing as he beat Emilio Gomez of Ecuador 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 7-5. Veteran Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek knocked out French 14th seed Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-3 to book a date with Canadian wild card Peter Polansky.
Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun beat Alexander Zverev, a Washington semifinalist, 7-5, 6-3.
A freshly shaven-headed Fabio Fognini dismissed 15th seed Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4 while Canadian Vasek Pospisil earned a home win as 2015 French semifinalist Jeremy Chardy was forced to retire trailing 7-6 (7/3).
Karlovic gave away nearly two decades to Taylor Fritz but the 37-year-old Croatian beat the teenager 6-7 (9/11), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
Bouchard in spotlight as Muguruza withdraws
In Montreal, homegrown hero Eugenie Bouchard reached the second round of the WTA hardcourt tournament in Montreal with a dramatic three-set victory Tuesday, lending a little star-power as the event lost French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.
In her past two appearances at her home event, Bouchard had failed to win a match.
But this time she gave fans what they wanted to see with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Czech Lucie Safarova.
Afer dominating the first set, she made a sluggish start to the second and Safarova took advantage to force a third frame.
Bouchard was unable to convert three match points at 6-5 in the third, but after Safarova forced the tiebreaker the Canadian roared back from a 3-1 deficit to seize the victory.
“The crowd was incredible,” said Bouchard, who begged off a longer post-match press conference pleading a stomachache.
That was after Spain’s Muguruza, the world No.3 and third seed, pulled out of her opening match complaining of gastrointestinal illness minutes before she was to take on Britain’s Naomi Broady.
Although it was a second-round match, Muguruza enjoyed a first-round bye. Organizers filled her place in the draw with lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko of the United States, who defeated Broady 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
In the only other second-round match of the day, fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep defeated Australian Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-3.
Halep and Gavrilova had split their last two meetings.
But Halep, coming off her second title of the season at home in Bucharest, was in control throughout, never facing a break point in the first set and shaking off an early tremor in the second to win in 86 minutes.
Britain’s Johanna Konta, less than 48 hours removed from lifting her first WTA title with an upset of Venus Williams in Stanford on Sunday, reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Shelby Rogers.
Konta, who moved up from 18th to 14th in the world on the strength of her Stanford run and is now knocking on the door of the top 10.
Only three other British players, Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Joe Durie, have made the top 10.
The second-seeded two-time Grand Slam champion was joined in the third round on Tuesday by fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, who dispatched Croatian Borna Coric 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the only other second-round match of the day.
Berdych was caught on the back foot in his opening set against Coric, with the Croatian losing a mere four points on serve.
But Berdych found his game in the second set, winning five straight games to squeeze into a deciding third set where he prevailed.
Wawrinka and savvy 34-year-old Youzhny last played in 2010, with the Russian winning their last two meetings from a set down at Miami and the US Open.
Youzhny again proved to be a tough customer, missing a chance to take the contest to a third set but forcing Wawrinka into errors on two match points before the Swiss put it away on this third.
In first-round action, Gael Monfils followed up his first tournament title in more than two years by barreling through to victory.
The flamboyant Frenchman, seeded 10th and fresh off his triumph in Washington, defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-3.
The often-injured Monfils said that he had just heard the news that Roger Federer’s 2016 season was over, as the Swiss great will miss Rio and the US Open rehabbing a knee injury.
French 13th seed Lucas Pouille joined Monfils in advancing as he beat Emilio Gomez of Ecuador 6-7 (8/10), 6-4, 7-5. Veteran Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek knocked out French 14th seed Benoit Paire 6-1, 6-3 to book a date with Canadian wild card Peter Polansky.
Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun beat Alexander Zverev, a Washington semifinalist, 7-5, 6-3.
A freshly shaven-headed Fabio Fognini dismissed 15th seed Steve Johnson 6-4, 6-4 while Canadian Vasek Pospisil earned a home win as 2015 French semifinalist Jeremy Chardy was forced to retire trailing 7-6 (7/3).
Karlovic gave away nearly two decades to Taylor Fritz but the 37-year-old Croatian beat the teenager 6-7 (9/11), 7-6 (7/5), 6-2.
Bouchard in spotlight as Muguruza withdraws
In Montreal, homegrown hero Eugenie Bouchard reached the second round of the WTA hardcourt tournament in Montreal with a dramatic three-set victory Tuesday, lending a little star-power as the event lost French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.
In her past two appearances at her home event, Bouchard had failed to win a match.
But this time she gave fans what they wanted to see with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Czech Lucie Safarova.
Afer dominating the first set, she made a sluggish start to the second and Safarova took advantage to force a third frame.
Bouchard was unable to convert three match points at 6-5 in the third, but after Safarova forced the tiebreaker the Canadian roared back from a 3-1 deficit to seize the victory.
“The crowd was incredible,” said Bouchard, who begged off a longer post-match press conference pleading a stomachache.
That was after Spain’s Muguruza, the world No.3 and third seed, pulled out of her opening match complaining of gastrointestinal illness minutes before she was to take on Britain’s Naomi Broady.
Although it was a second-round match, Muguruza enjoyed a first-round bye. Organizers filled her place in the draw with lucky loser Varvara Lepchenko of the United States, who defeated Broady 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
In the only other second-round match of the day, fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep defeated Australian Daria Gavrilova 6-2, 6-3.
Halep and Gavrilova had split their last two meetings.
But Halep, coming off her second title of the season at home in Bucharest, was in control throughout, never facing a break point in the first set and shaking off an early tremor in the second to win in 86 minutes.
Britain’s Johanna Konta, less than 48 hours removed from lifting her first WTA title with an upset of Venus Williams in Stanford on Sunday, reached the second round with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over American Shelby Rogers.
Konta, who moved up from 18th to 14th in the world on the strength of her Stanford run and is now knocking on the door of the top 10.
Only three other British players, Virginia Wade, Sue Barker and Joe Durie, have made the top 10.
