Osaka defeated 10th seed Svitolina to triumph 6-2 6-2
Osaka to meet Canadian Tauson in the semi-final
Tauson defeated Madison Keys to progress
Naomi Osaka overcame Elina Svitolina to set up an enthralling Canadian Open semi-final against Clara Tauson.
Osaka overpowered 10th seed Svitolina to triumph 6-2 6-2 on Tuesday.
The four-time grand slam champion, who won her first title since 2021 earlier this year at L'Open 35 de Saint Malo, is into the last four of the Canadian Open for the first time.
"I think for me, I'm just having a lot of fun playing and I'm really glad to be here," Osaka told the Montreal crowd.
Next up is Tauson, who sent reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys packing with a comprehensive 6-1 6-4 victory, following up her impressive defeat of Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek.
The Dane, who revealed her grandfather died on Sunday, is aiming to reach her second WTA 1000 final, after losing to Mirra Andreeva in Dubai earlier this year.
Tauson has now won 32 main-draw matches this season, more than she managed in the three previous years combined.
She previously met Osaka in the final of the Auckland Open earlier this season, with Tauson winning via walkover.
Data Debrief: Bouncing back
Two of Osaka's major titles have come at the US Open, and she is warming up for that tournament in style. After a disappointing defeat to Emma Raducanu at the Washington Open last week, Osaka has clicked through the gears in Montreal.
She is now the Japanese player to have reached the most Tier I/WTA-1000 semi-finals (six), while she has also equalled the best result by a Japanese player at the Canadian Open in the Open Era.
Tauson, on the other hand, has made her fourth WTA-level semi-final of the year (Auckland, Linz, Dubai and Montreal) – already more than in her entire career prior to this season (three in total). All seven of her career semi-final appearances have come on hard courts.
