Bencic withdraws from Toronto quarterfinal with injury; Gauff advances to final 4
TORONTO — Belinda Bencic has withdrawn from Tuesday’s National Bank Open quarterfinal with a hip injury. Her opponent, Coco Gauff, advances to the semifinals and awaits the winner of Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka.
"I am really sorry to not be able to compete tonight," Bencic said in a statement before addressing the Sobeys Stadium crowd. "This is amazing tournament, and I was really looking forward to playing in front of the great fans here in Toronto. I tried everything possible to be ready for tonight. Looking forward to being back in Toronto next time."
Rybakina and Osaka will play on Stadium Court, not before 7:30 p.m.
Bencic, the 2015 champion in Toronto, had reached the quarterfinals with wins over Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend and Alexandra Eala.
Following her victory over Stephens, Bencic said to press that she wasn’t even sure she was going to play in Toronto, citing a nagging injury that needed extra attention after Wimbledon.
“I had some challenges after Wimbledon, with a little ongoing injury, so wasn't really sure that I'm going to play here,” Bencic said last Wednesday. “I'm really happy that I made it and won the first [match].
“Obviously I love this tournament a lot, so I did all I could. Even though I didn't feel like -- I don't know, it went really slow the recovery, so I was a bit worried that I might not make it here. I really wanted to play here.”
Bencic had been playing with significant taping on her leg, which she had said generally was productive throughout her matches.
In her third round, she defeated Taylor Townsend in a 3 hour and 24-minute thriller, but it was the most physical of her three matches. Following her win over Eala Sunday, she told reporters that she recovered well from the Townsend match, but nothing was unusual.
“I do feel like I'm not up to fitness yet, because I had some challenges after Wimbledon a little bit, not being able to practice so much,” Bencic said Sunday. “I still feel like I can get better for US Open. I'm happy I overcame it, and obviously today I didn't feel like anything bothered me physically, so that was good.”
Bencic is next slated to compete in Cincinnati.
As for Gauff, she is through to her first ever semifinal at the National Bank Open and will play Wednesday for a spot in Thursday’s final.
