Muchova, Swiatek set for Roland-Garros reprise in Montreal

Hard to believe that it was only two months ago when Karolina Muchova played her maiden major final, falling just short to Iga Swiatek in an epic Roland-Garros final, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.

Different continent, different surface, different stakes, but here comes a chance for Muchova and Swiatek to renew their rivalry in Montreal, where both players advanced in straight sets on Wednesday.

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Swiatek tops former No 1 Pliskova in Montreal

Tennis Majors

No 14 seed Karolina Muchova won against Romanian Sorana Cirstea 7-5, 6-4, while Swiatek edged past former world No 1 Karolina Pliskova, 7-6(6), 6-2.

The meeting will be the pair’s third showdown, with Muchova having won their first meeting, at Prague in three sets in 2019.

Swiatek: No need to forget

Swiatek, asked if it is easy to put a previous match behind her and just focus on the now, says she prefers to remember her tough matches and use them as learning experiences.

“I don’t think we need to kind of forget about it,” she said. “It’s more like we need to learn and kind of remember what worked. But then, on the other hand, exactly, it’s a different surface and different stage of tournament and different pressure.

“I just kind of want to tactically learn from the previous matches to know what worked and what not. But, besides that, it’s a totally different chapter.”

In the previous round of the Rogers Cup, Karolina Muchova defeated Russian Anastasia Potapova (7-6 (4), 6-2).

Cirstea, ranked No 31, beat Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva (6-4, 7-6 (3)) during the first round of the Rogers Cup.

Montreal WTA 1000, other second-round results (Stade IGA, hard, USD 2.788.468, most recent results first):

• Petra Kvitova vs. Camila Giorgi
• Jasmine Paolini vs. Madison Keys
• Petra Martic vs. Aryna Sabalenka
• Danielle Collins vs. Maria Sakkari
• Marketa Vondrousova vs. Caroline Wozniacki
• Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Leylah Fernandez
• Jennifer Brady vs. Elena Rybakina: wednesday
• Daria Kasatkina (10) beat Anna Blinkova: 6-2, 7-5
• Liudmila Samsonova (15) beat Qinwen Zheng: 6-3, 6-2
• Jessica Pegula (4) beat Yulia Putintseva (LL): 6-4, 6-4
• Iga Swiatek beat Karolina Pliskova: 7-6 (6), 6-2
• Belinda Bencic (12) beat Alycia Parks (Q): 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
• Coco Gauff (6) beat Katie Boulter (Q): 6-2, 6-2
• Victoria Azarenka vs. Sloane Stephens
• Marie Bouzkova beat Caroline Garcia (5): 6-4, 4-6, 6-2