Azarenka withdraws, sending Stephens into round of 16 at Montreal

American Sloane Stephens reached the last 16 of the Canadian Open after Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, the No 16 seed, withdrew before the match at Stade IGA in Montreal on Tuesday.

In a statement on social media, Azarenka said she had re-injured an injury which had been bothering her for some time which forced her to withdraw.

“Dear fans, I am sorry to say, but I have unfortunate news that during my warm up for tonight’s match, I re-injured a lingering injury that I thought was resolved and need to withdraw from the match. Wishing the event all the best success and good luck to Sloane for the rest of the tournament. I love Montreal and I look forward to coming back!!,” the two-time Australian Open winner posted on Twitter.

Dear fans, I am sorry to say, but I have unfortunate news that during my warm up for tonight’s match, I re-injured a lingering injury that I thought was resolved and need to withdraw from the match. Wishing the event all the best success and good luck to Sloane for the rest of…

— victoria azarenka (@vika7) August 9, 2023

Stephens, ranked No 38, will play the winner of the match between American Jennifer Brady and Kazakh Elena Rybakina, the No 3 seed, next.

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The American won against Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina (6-4, 7-6 (2)) in the previous round of the Rogers Cup.

In the previous round of the Rogers Cup, Azarenka, ranked No 19, beat Pole Magda Linette (6-3, 6-0).

Montreal WTA 1000, other second-round matches (Stade IGA, hard, USD 2,788,468):

• Marie Bouzkova beat Caroline Garcia (5): 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
• 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
• Sorana Cirstea vs. Karolina Muchova
• Liudmila Samsonova vs. Qinwen Zheng
• Anna Blinkova vs. Daria Kasatkina
• Jessica Pegula vs. Yulia Putintseva
• Iga Swiatek vs. Karolina Pliskova
• Alycia Parks vs. Belinda Bencic
• Katie Boulter vs. Coco Gauff
• Jennifer Brady vs. Elena Rybakina
• Petra Kvitova vs. Camila Giorgi