By Frank Pingue
TORONTO (Reuters) – Defending champion Camila Giorgi beat Britain’s Emma Raducanu 7-6(0) 6-2 on Tuesday to reach the second round of the Toronto Open where the grounds were abuzz with news of Serena Williams’ pending retirement from tennis.
U.S. Open champion Raducanu went ahead 2-0 in the second set but Giorgi finished with a flourish as she secured the next six games with a mix of solid returns, net play and movement.
“This is my game and so I should play like this always but sometimes it doesn’t work,” Giorgi said during her on-court interview.
The two players exchanged six breaks of serve during the opening set before Giorgi flicked a switch and breezed through a tiebreak that came to a quick end after a Raducanu double-fault.
Up next for the 30-year-old Italian will be Belgian Elise Mertens, who was a 7-6(2) 6-1 winner over Hungary’s Anna Bondar.
Giorgi’s match began about five hours after Williams, who is also competing at the hardcourt event this week, announced plans to retire so she can focus on other things that are important to her.
News of the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s decision dominated talk among players and fans in attendance.
“She changed the sport and she did a lot and now she can bow down,” said spectator Natalie Chapusette, who got interested in tennis because of Williams. “It is good news for her, but not for the fans. But if you see the human behind the sportsperson, she deserves it.”
Naomi Osaka followed Giorgi onto the centre court for a match against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
Also reaching the second round was 10th seed Coco Gauff, a 6-1 6-3 winner over fellow American Madison Brengle, and China’s Zheng Qinwen, who rallied from a set down to beat Canadian wildcard Rebecca Marino 3-6 7-6(5) 6-4.
Former champion Bianca Andreescu will begin the evening session against 11th-seeded Daria Kasatkina followed by a clash between Greek third seed Maria Sakkari and Sloane Stephens.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Additional reporting by Divya Rajagopal, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
