Elena Rybakina criticised the lack of preparation time after her Canadian Open quarter-final was brought forward, saying it 'would have been nice' to practice in the night-session conditions. The No. 2 seed's match against Naomi Osaka was moved to 7.30pm local time after Belinda Bencic withdrew from the tournament shortly before her scheduled quarter-final against Coco Gauff.
Late change disrupts Rybakina's routine
Rybakina, who was playing her first night-session match of the tournament, had hoped to get extra practice time in the evening conditions. But when Bencic pulled out, she had to virtually go straight on court. The two-time Grand Slam champion lost the first set and twice went a break down in the second before winning 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4.
After reaching the last four, Rybakina explained the impact of the late change: "Well, I was hoping to actually hit a little bit later, once more, at least 10 minutes, to get used to night conditions. When we started, it was still a little bit of sun, but then it got completely, like, different from the matches I played, because all of them were during the day. So I couldn't find the feeling, it took me some time."
Rybakina on facing Osaka
The match was the first meeting between multi-Grand Slam champions Rybakina and Osaka. Rybakina said: "Well, it wasn't very different from the practices. She plays aggressive and she has a very good serve. I knew what to expect since we practised a couple of times. Of course, some moments under pressure is different from the practices. Overall, I feel like we knew each other already a little bit. It was important for me to serve well, which I didn't to start the match. Then it got better, so I'm glad that in the end it went my way."
Tournament chaos continues
Bencic's withdrawal was another setback for organisers, who have faced multiple postponements and cancellations due to poor weather. On Monday night in Montreal, which is hosting the ATP field, both quarter-final matches were cancelled due to rain and thunderstorms and postponed to Tuesday. The men's field has also been hit by withdrawals and retirements, including Canada's three most high-profile ATP players: No. 2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled out ahead of his opening match last week, while Denis Shapovalov and Gabriel Diallo both retired injured.
