The bottom half of the draw motored into the Round of 16 at the National Bank Open on Wednesday. All eight second-round matches on that side of the draw were scheduled for action on Day 3.
Here is a breakdown of the key results:
Camila Giorgi def. Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5
World No.29 Giorgi, the defending champion, took out 37th-ranked Mertens in 1 hour and 32 minutes, notching her eighth straight win at this tournament.
The first six victories of that Canadian winning streak came last year, when Giorgi won her first WTA 1000 title when the tournament was held in Montreal. Giorgi beat Mertens during her run to the title last year as well, and she is now 2-2 against Mertens.
Giorgi converted all three of her break points and won 60 percent of Mertens' second service points, backing up her Top 10 win over Emma Raducanu in the opening round. Giorgi was much sturdier when defending her own second serve, winning 60 percent of those points.
(7) Jessica Pegula def. (Q) Asia Muhammad 6-2, 7-5
Giorgi will next face No.7 seed Jessica Pegula for the second straight National Bank Open, for a spot in the quarterfinals. Pegula defeated her fellow American, qualifier Asia Muhammad, 6-2, 7-5 on Wednesday.
Pegula, the top-ranked American, ousted 187th-ranked Muhammad in 1 hour and 41 minutes. Pegula fell to Giorgi in the Montreal semifinals last year.
Yulia Putintseva def. (4) Paula Badosa 7-5, 1-0, ret.
World No.46 Putintseva advanced past Badosa when the Spaniard retired due to muscle cramping. Badosa led by a break at 3-1 before Putintseva won five of the last six games in the opening set. Despite winning by retirement, this marks Putintseva's 10th win against a Top 10 opponent.
Putintseva will next face Alison Riske-Amritraj in the Round of 16. Riske-Amritraj leads their head-to-head 3-2, but the pair have not faced each other since 2018.
Alison Riske-Amritraj def. (16) Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(2), 0-6, 7-5
World No.35 Riske-Amritraj defeated a former Grand Slam champion for the second straight round when she overcame 2017 Roland Garros titlist Ostapenko in 2 hours and 21 minutes.
Riske-Amritraj, who beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the first round, claimed her first win against Ostapenko in their three meetings. She had previously fallen to the Latvian at the 2019 US Open and this year's Australian Open.
(6) Aryna Sabalenka def. Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-3
Sabalenka is now an undefeated 3-0 against Sorribes Tormo following her 1-hour and 50-minute victory on the Toronto hard courts. Sabalenka, a semifinalist in Montreal last year, will take on Coco Gauff in the Round of 16.
Three takeaways: Gauff holds off Rybakina in rollercoaster to win first meeting
Sabalenka struggled with 16 double faults, but when she got her first serve into play, she was the stronger of the two. Sabalenka won 62 percent of her first-service points, while Sorribes Tormo won 45 percent of hers.
