After rain washed away nine matches on Sunday at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Monday was a busy day.

Three of the four matches on the Centre Court schedule featured players from the host nation, including 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu who was supposed to play Sunday night but instead featured in the day session on Monday.

All remaining round-one matches were contested on Monday.

CENTRE COURT – starts at 12:30 PM[WC] Kayla Cross (CAN) d. Katie Boulter (GBR) 7-6(3), 7-5Despite some nervy moments trying to close out both sets, Cross dug in and refused to let the match slip away. With the home crowd behind her, the 21-year-old hung on to score her first singles win not only at the WTA 1000 level, but at any WTA Tour event. READ MORENikola Bartunkova (CZE) d. [WC] Bianca Andreescu (CAN) 7-5, 6-2It looked like the 2019 champion was going to cruise into round two when she was serving up 5-2, 40-love. But suddenly, the momentum flipped and Bartunkova roared back, winning six straight games including two breaks when the Canadian was serving for the set, to steal it and go up 1-0 in the second. From there, Andreescu was fighting just to stay in the match and ended up being broken in the final game. READ MORE

Not before 7:00 PM 

Zeynep Sonmez (TUR) d. [WC] Rebecca Marino (CAN) 7-5, 6-4Sonmez did a good job of getting into Marino service games, creating eight break-point chances and converting three, while only dropping her own serve once. READ MOREXinyu Wang (CHN) vs Daria Kasatkina (AUS) 1-6, 7-6(5), 7-5Kasatkina pulled the greatest escape of the first round. The match looked like it was going to be a blowout when Wang raced through the first set and went up 4-1 in the second. After the Aussie fought back to steal the set in the break, Wang had another shot when she served for the match at 5-3 in the third but again Kasatkina refused to go away quietly. She roared back to win the last four games and complete the epic comeback.GRANDSTAND – starts at 11:00 AMKarolina Pliskova (CZE) d. Oleksandra Oliynykova (UKR) 6-4, 6-4Pliskova held her nerve late in both sets while Oliynykova struggled under pressure. The Ukrainian was broken in her final service game in each, losing the second set after having led by a break with break points to make it a double. 

Not before 12:30 PM 

McCartney Kessler (USA) d. [WC] Cadence Brace (CAN) 6-3, 6-3Kessler set the tone with a break in the opening game and never looked back. She saved the only three break points she faced all match while keeping Brace under constant pressure on serve. READ MOREMagdalena French (POL) d. Leolia Jeanjean (FRA) 7-5, 6-3The match restarted on Monday at 4-4 in the first set after rain suspended play on Sunday. The first three games on Monday were breaks before the Pole held to take the opening set. She then broke early in the second and finished the match on a three-game run.Magda Linette (POL) d. [WC] Carol Zhao (CAN) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4In her final match at the National Bank Open, Zhao fought to the end. She got off to a strong start by stealing the first set and overcame a mid-match lull to fight back from a break down in the third. But in the end, it was not enough as a late break delivered Linette the win. READ MORE

Not before 5:00 PM 

Panna Udvardy (HUN) d. Eva Lys (GER) 2-6, 7-6(3), 2-0 ret.Lys looked well on her way to victory up a set and 5-2 in the second, but suddenly everything changed. The German’s level began to drop dramatically and Udvardy started to claw back. Lys only managed one more game before retiring after losing the second-set tiebreak and falling behind a break in the decider.[Q] Sloane Stephens (USA) d. Solana Sierra (ARG) 6-3, 6-4 The former US Open champion bounced back after getting broken early, ripping off eight straight games from 1-3 down in the first to going up 3-0 in the second. She did get broken serving for the match but responded perfectly by breaking in the following game for the match.COURT 1 – starts at 11:00 AM[Q] Alina Korneeva d. [Q] Polina Kudermetova (UZB) 6-0, 3-0 ret.It was all Korneeva through 24 minutes before Kudermetova had the physio out to examine her knee, which ultimately led to her retiring.

Not before 12:30 PM 

Talia Gibson (AUS) d. Elisabetta Cocciaretto (ITA) 6-2, 3-2 ret.The second retirement of the day, Cocciaretto got treatment on her leg after the first set. Even though she broke to start the second, Gibson broke right back and the Italian called it quits after five games.Shuai Zhang (CHN) d. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) 6-4, 6-1 Zhang broke to open the match and never trailed the rest of the way. While Putintseva managed to recover some breaks, the best she could do was rally to 4-4 in the first, only to be immediately broken again. The Chinese then raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second set which was more than enough cushion.Liudmila Samsonova d. Janice Tjen (INA) 7-6(9), 7-5Samsonova overcame the disappointment of dropping serve early in the first set then, having broken twice subsequently, failing to serve out the set at 5-4 to win an epic tiebreak 11-9 after saving two set points. She then broke at the perfect moment in the second, converting a break/match point on Tjen’s serve in the 12th game.Taylor Townsend (USA) d. Tereza Valentova (CZE) 6-4, 7-5Breaks were plentiful in this one, but Townsend got the most important ones. The 2024 Toronto quarter-finalist broke in the final game of each set to secure the win.COURT 4 – starts at 11:00 AM[Q] Kayla Day (USA) d. Diane Parry (FRA) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5In an odd twist, the player who was broken first in each set ended up winning it. Parry had the match on her racket serving at 5-3 in the third, but never had a game point the rest of the way as Day won 16 of the last 19 points, reeling off the final four games to steal the win.

Not before 12:30 PM 

Elena-Gabriela Ruse (ROU) d. Peyton Stearns (USA) 6-0, 7-5Break-point conversion made all the difference in this one, as both women had the same number of break-point chances in the first set but Stearns could not convert any while Ruse secured three for a bagel. The American bounced back to go up 4-0 in the second, only for Ruse to win seven of the last eight games.Antonia Ruzic (CRO) d. [Q] Lois Boisson (FRA) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3Boisson got the hold she needed coming out of the delay after the match was postponed at 5-3 on Sunday night, but from there it was all Ruzic. The Croatian broke twice in the second and third sets as she cruised into round two.[Q] Maya Joint (AUS) d. Yuliia Starodubtseva (UKR) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3Midway through the second set, Joint figured out the Starodubtseva serve. She broke in six of the Ukrainian’s last seven service games, including four times in the third set, to complete the comeback.  Caty McNally (USA) d. [Q] Tatjana Maria (GER) 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1The first two sets were roller coasters were both women scoring break leads at various points. But after taking the second-set tiebreak, McNally asserted herself in the third set, breaking twice on her way to a quick 5-0 lead which she held onto to advance.COURT 3 – starts at 11:00 AMAnna Bondar (HUN) d. Anna Kalinina (UKR) 6-4, 7-5The two sets were nearly identical, with Bondar breaking right back after dropping serve twice in each set, only to break Kalinina in the final game both times, including a wild nine-deuce game to end the first set.

Not before 12:30 PM 

[Q] Rebecca Sramkova (SVK) d. [Q] Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-3Sramkova broke first in each set and even though she was broken herself, she always broke right back to maintain her advantage. She only trailed after Blinkova held in the opening game of the second.[Q] Lanlana Tararudee (THA) d. [Q] Emerson Jones (AUS) 7-6(2), 6-2Tararudee had a tough start to the match, being broken in her first two service games, dropping serve three total times in the first set, and finding herself a game away from losing the opener. But the Thai broke Jones when the Aussie served for the set, ran away with the tiebreak, then broke twice early in the second set, a lead she clung to all the way to the finish line. Alycia Parks (USA) d. [Q] Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva (AND) 6-4, 6-4 Even though her usually dominant serve was not firing on all cylinders, Parks managed to do a lot of damage on return, breaking six times to counter the four times she was broken. The American nearly blew a 5-1 lead in the second set but managed one last break when Jimenez Kasintseva was trying to draw level.Renata Zarazua (MEX) d. Tamara Korpatsch (GER) 6-4, 0-6, 6-1Zarazua bounced back brilliantly after getting bagelled in the second set, breaking Korpatsch all four times the German stepped up to serve in the deciding set.

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Feature Photo : Mark Blinch/Wick Photography for National Bank Open