The Canadian Open continues this week as Ons Jabeur faces Naomi Osaka while Elina Svitolina goes up against Shelby Rogers in the round of 64. Damien Kayat previews.
2024 WTA Tour – WTA 1000
Canadian Open
Sobeys Stadium
Selected Ro64 matches – 6 August
Ons Jabeur 29/20 | Naomi Osaka 53/100
Talk about a heavyweight opening tie. World No.16 Ons Jabeur will be looking to reenergize her somewhat flagging career this week. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up has endured some well-documented injury issues this season.
I really thought that right knee injury could bring a premature end to her career (it still could). She was forced to withdraw from last week’s Washington Open and she desperately needs some time on court to enhance her US Open preparations.
A three-time finalist on last year’s tour, the Tunisian has really failed to make much of an impression this year. She currently owns a 16-13 record this year, failing to reach the semifinals in a single competition. She was eliminated in the third round at SW19 and was obviously forced to withdraw last week.
I really think this could be a make-or-break moment in her season (and possibly career). These North American hardcourts are notoriously taxing on the body and she will need to manage her schedule carefully. The 2022 US Open runner-up is an accomplished hardcourt operator who can match anyone on her day.
Next up for Jabeur is one of the most accomplished hardcourt players of the 21st century: Naomi Osaka. The Japanese star had the world at her feet a few years ago.
The hard-hitting Osaka had four hardcourt slams to her name by age 23 and she looked set for a protracted time in the upper echelons of the game. But well-publicised battles with mental health and injury have seen her plummet down the rankings.
I think that her 2024 pregnancy hiatus came at the right time for her tennis career, allowing her to decompress from the daily grind of life on tour. She returned to action earlier this season and the results have been pretty mixed. She is 16-14 for the season, reaching the quarterfinals in Qatar and the Libema Open.
She almost managed to eliminate Swiatek in the French Open, surprising the World No.1 with a fearsome display of pure hitting. She enters Toronto off the back of early exits at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics. But this is the period of the season where she could really start to rediscover her mojo.
The Verdict: Osaka to win in straight sets 23/20
Osaka leads the head-to-head 1-0, easing past the Tunisian en route to her 2021 Aussie Open title. I just have a feeling that we could see a reinvigorated Osaka during this portion of the season.
She has been hinting at a real return to form this year (perhaps overperforming during the clay-court swing). These courts suit her big-hitting style to a tee and she could take advantage of an ailing Jabeur.
Elina Svitolina 1/5 | Shelby Rogers 34/10
Elina Svitolina will feel devastated after failing to place in Paris. The Ukrainian has been an outspoken critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and you got the impression that she wanted it a little more than anyone else last week.
She led Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova 2-0 in the deciding set of their 3rd round tie but just couldn’t see things through. This has been a slightly disappointing campaign for the Ukrainian star.
She started the year with a run to the Auckland final and she has continued to impress at Grand Slam level, reaching the 4th round in Melbourne and Paris before a notable quarterfinal finish at SW19. But she has been erratic in the intervening tournaments, struggling to integrate a bit more aggression into her game.
A defensive baseliner by nature, Svitolina has been working on becoming a little more proactive in rallies and it has resulted in some inconsistency. She will have some good memories of this event, winning the title back in 2017 (when this was still known as the Aviva Stadium).
Shelby Rogers will be hoping that the home trappings of the North American hardcourt season can lead to an uptick in her dreadful form. The 31-year-old was once a feared dark horse competitor on hard surfaces, reaching the quarterfinals of the 2020 US Open.
She finished runner-up at the 2022 WTA 500 event in Silicon Valley and she will be looking to draw on some of those positive experiences this week. Rogers took some time away from the court towards the end of last year, looking to recuperate from a bad abdominal strain.
And she hasn’t really been able to recover this year, failing to win back-to-back matches while playing under a protected ranking. She was eliminated by Montgomery in last week’s Citi Open and she knows that she needs to start winning some matches (she has plummeted to a ranking of 369 in the world).
The Verdict: Svitolina to win in three sets 3/1
Svitolina leads the head-to-head 4-0. Having said that, three of those four matches have gone all the way to three sets. Svitolina may still feel a bit deflated after her Olympic disappointment and Rogers could take advantage of that.
Rogers is a dogged hardcourt competitor and I can see her surprising Svitolina a bit. Still, Svitolina is a great problem solver and will likely get the job done in the end.
