Shnaider surprises Gauff with first Top 10 win

In a confrontation between two players born in 2004, Russian Diana Schnaider achieved her first Top 10 victory with a decisive 6-4 6-1 win over the US Open champion Coco Gauff in the third round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.

In challenging, windy conditions, the slightly younger Shnaider broke Gauff’s serve once late in the first set and twice in the second to secure a convincing victory. Gauff, the tournament’s top favorite, struggled with her serve, recording eight double faults and winning just 50% of her first serves. She also won just 19% of her first return points (6/32) and failed to convert the only break point she earned.

Shnaider, who successfully transitioned from the clay courts of the Paris Olympics, where she won a silver medal in the women’s doubles with Mirra Andreeva, seemed well-prepared for the Toronto event. Gauff, on the other hand, admitted she felt less prepared: “Sometimes I wonder if I should have played or not,” Gauff admitted. “But at the end of the day, I wanted to test myself and see if I could do it, how I would do it if I was a little bit tired mentally and physically.”

Shnaider, who was seeded 14th in Toronto, now advances to her first WTA 1000 quarter-final, where she will face sixth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova.

At just 20 years old, Shnaider, who is ranked 24th in the world, has already won three WTA titles this year, each on a different surface: Budapest (clay), Bad Homburg (grass) and Hua Hin (hard). Her versatile and consistent performances are quickly establishing her as a formidable force on the tour.