WTA Toronto: Navarro comes through tough contest with Townsend to reach semi-finals

Emma Navarro defeated fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6 (5) to advance to the semi-finals of the National Bank Open at the Aviva Centre.

It was a close encounter, despite the straight-set scoreline, with both players making it a physical, drawn-out contest defined by powerful big-hitting.

The pair exchanged a break apiece across the opening four games, before Navarro struck again in the eighth game in what was a decisive blow.

The world No 15 then served out the opening set with little trouble to move into a deserved lead.

The second stanza was even closer, with neither player able to make the breakthrough as both women defended serve excellently.

A tiebreak was required, at which point the greater experience of Navarro appeared to shine through, as she sealed a close breaker to seal a tough win over her compatriot.

With victory, Navarro reaches the semi-finals of a 1000-level event for the first time in her career as she continues her exceptional breakthrough season on the hard courts on which she most flourishes.

Navarro, ranked No 15, will play the winner of the match between American Amanda Anisimova and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed, next.

In the previous rounds of the Rogers Cup, Emma Navarro defeated Pole Magda Linette (6-2, 6-4) and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No 11 seed (7-5, 7-5).

Townsend, ranked No 71, won against Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, the No 16 seed (6-3, 3-1 ret.), Canadian wildcard Marina Stakusic (6-0, 6-2) and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, the No 4 seed (6-2, 6-1) earlier in the tournament.

Toronto WTA 1000, other last-eight results (Aviva Centre, hard, USD 3.211.715, most recent results first):

• Diana Shnaider vs. Liudmila Samsonova
• Jessica Pegula vs. Peyton Stearns
• Amanda Anisimova vs. Aryna Sabalenka