MONTREAL — Clara Tauson wore a heavy heart when she took the court Tuesday night.
Just two days after her grandfather's death, Tauson delivered a composed performance to reach the National Bank Open semifinals.
The 22-year-old from Denmark ousted Madison Keys of the United States with a 6-1, 6-4 win in the women's singles quarterfinals.
Then she dedicated the victory to her grandfather, Peter, during an on-court interview at IGA Stadium.
“I really wanted to win for him today,” she told the crowd before breaking down in tears, while fans applauded her courageous performance. “I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he’s watching.”
Tauson said she only found out about her grandfather’s death on Monday, a day after she eliminated world No. 3 Iga Swiatek 7-6 (1), 6-3.
She spoke of him as one of the biggest supporters of her career.
“He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to almost every single practice from my school,” Tauson said. “It was tough news yesterday morning when I woke up, but I think it's for the better. He was not feeling great for a while.”
The 16th-seeded Tauson, who hasn’t lost a set at the WTA 1000 event, dominated from start to finish against the sixth-seeded Keys.
Tauson hit five aces, converted three of six breakpoint opportunities while saving all three she faced and won 59 per cent of the points.
"I just pushed it aside until the match was done. And then obviously, when it's done, you can let the emotions go a little,” she said. “I tried the past 48 hours to just focus on the match, and now I got the win, and then I'm going to try to push it away again and be ready."
Tauson will face four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
Canadian teenage sensation Victoria Mboko takes on ninth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the other semifinal Wednesday. Mboko, who’s playing in her first main draw at the National Bank Open, will rise into the WTA’s top 50 after beginning the year outside the top 300.
The 18-year-old from Toronto has defeated five higher-ranked opponents en route to the semifinals, including top seed and world No. 2 Coco Gauff in the fourth round.
The top eight seeds are now out of the 96-player tournament after Keys’s exit.
Keys failed to convert two breakpoint chances in the first game. After the American held serve, Tauson won the ensuing five games to take the first set.
"Not my best performance out there today,” said Keys, who won this year’s Australian Open. “She played amazing tonight, she played incredibly well, she served really well. It was just one of those things where I felt like I kept trying different things, and she was just beating me.
"When she's serving like that, it's going to be really hard to break her."
Tauson broke Keys a third time to open the second set, hitting a backhand return winner for the early advantage.
Trailing 4-3, Keys earned her third breakpoint opportunity but fired her forehand long and wide as Tauson held serve.
Tauson ultimately won the match in 70 minutes, claiming multiple top-10 wins in a single event for the first time in her career.
Now the second Danish player to reach the Canadian Open semifinals in the Open Era after Caroline Wozniacki, Tauson still believes she can find another gear.
"Even the last two matches, I don't think I've reached my top level,” she said. “But I've been playing really consistently and serving well. I think if I play even better, it's going to be even harder for the opponents.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
