Around Toronto's grounds: Swiatek's newest book, Kostyuk's super strength & McCoco

TORONTO -- Iga Swiatek added the latest book to her collection, and it came hand-delivered at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto.

Following her straight-sets third round win Thursday, the World No. 8 on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz was gifted a copy of "Fifteen Dogs" by Canadian author André Alexis from a fan.

The novel focuses on 15 dogs held in a Toronto veterinary clinic that are gifted human consciousness by Greek gods. 

Swiatek is known to be one of the bookworms among the players, and she recently read "Beasts of the Sea" by Finnish author Iida Turpeinen part of her reading challenge. Afterwards, she was inspired to check out the novel's exhibit in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Swiatek also enjoyed "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, too. 

SEE: What would a Swiatek novel be about? Some history, some darkness, some love

"I read quite a lot, just when I have some time off," Swiatek said to press Thursday. "I'm not watching anything currently, so most of the time goes to reading, but it's not anything planned."

Kostyuk brings the good vibes

Vibes were riding high for Marta Kostyuk in her 6-3, 6-1 win over Madison Keys on the Grandstand court. 

So much so that she was giving a sneak peek to some of her dance moves during a temporarily rain delay. It's not too uncommon for Kostyuk to bust out some moves with the music as she enjoys to keep the good vibes rolling. 

But that wasn't the only fun moment throughout the match. In fact, the best moment came just before Kostyuk exited the court.

The Ukrainian had signed some tennis balls that she had prepared to toss to the fans as part of a standard post-match fan interaction, but on her first attempt, she chucked the ball so far out of the bleachers that the fans could only watch it sail out of the complex.

"Could I get one more  ball," Kostyuk laughed.

Check out the full clip below:

"Well, I probably wasn't aware how far I can throw," Kostyuk said to press, laughing. "I think that was really it. I wanted to go like further in, I wanted to throw it further in the stands. But, yeah, it went a little too far. I was really surprised with the strength I have."

Kostyuk said it's important to maintain a good morale consistently throughout her matches. Today, it was easy, dropping just four games, but it's more of a test.

"Embracing the challenge, and I think really important to keep that benchmark for myself that how I handle losses," Kostyuk said. "To have fun and to be positive when everything is good is really easy, and I think everyone can do it.

"How you deal with difficult moments, and how you handle losses, this is the part where I feel like you can always improve. I try to really pay attention to how I am when I'm down and when I'm losing."

Kostyuk will next face Iga Swiatek in the fourth round on Saturday. 

McCoco is back!

2018 junior US Open doubles champions and 2021 US Open doubles finalists Coco Gauff and Caty McNally rejoined in Toronto for the doubles draw. The American duo prevailed in a 3-6, 6-3, [11-9] win over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Gabriela Dabrowski, saving a match point too. 

Gauff entered Toronto as a defending doubles champion last year in Montreal, but played alongside McCartney Kessler. As for McNally and Gauff, the American duo has three WTA doubles titles together, most recently in Parma, Italy in 2021. 

On Friday, McNally will face Alexandra Eala in a primetime match for a spot in the Round of 16 in singles, while Gauff faces familiar opponent Maria Sakkari.