Canadian Kayla Cross upset Katie Boulter 7-6(3), 7-5 on Monday to earn the first WTA 1000 win, and main-draw win on the WTA Tour, of her career.
The 172nd-ranked Cross was previously 0-2 in WTA main draws, having lost at the NBO last year and in Granby in 2022.
Boulter, the former world No. 23 and current No. 69, has now lost in the first round in four straight tournaments.
Both players were dominant on serve early, as Cross and Boulter won 100 and 88 per cent of their first-serve points, respectively, through seven games. After holding at love to go up 4-3, Cross carried the momentum right into Boulter’s service game, breaking the 69th-ranked Brit at love for the first break of the match.
After serves dominated early, the set flipped on its head, as four of the next five games ended in a break after Cross went up 4-3. The Canadian ended up down 6-5 but fought off four set points to force the tiebreak that she would win 7-3 to take a hotly contested first set.
Much like the first set, the second began with 10 straight holds as the pair went back and forth searching for their opportunity. At 5-5, Cross finally broke through with the first break of the set when Boulter sent a smash long, handing the game and control of the match to Cross.
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Serving for the match, the 21-year-old Canadian would make no mistake and finish off Boulter to a standing ovation on Centre Court at Sobey’s Stadium.
Cross earned her way into the event after securing the Road to the NBO wildcard by winning the title at the W75 event in Granby.
Brace falls to Kessler
Canadian Cadence Brace was unable to win her first WTA 1000 match as she fell to McCartney Kessler 6-3, 6-3 in the first round of the National Bank Open in Toronto on Monday.
This was Brace’s first match against a Top 50 opponent and she was in search of her first main-draw win in four years.
Kessler has had success at this tournament before, as she reached the fourth round last year, upsetting Mirra Andreeva along the way. The 27-year-old is looking to add a fourth title to her trophy case and first since winning the Nottingham Open last June.
The first set went south quickly for the Canadian, as she was broken in her first service game to open the match. Brace was on the verge of conceding complete control of the set down 3-1 and facing double break point but was able to battle back to grind out the hold. Brace was unable to overcome the early break, though, and the world No. 47 eventually broke the Canadian again to finish off the first set 6-3.
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Kessler was similarly dominant in the second set, breaking Brace’s serve in her second opportunity to take firm control of the match. The 254th-ranked Canadian was unable to mount a significant challenge as her American opponent would quickly finish off the set on schedule for the victory.
This was Brace’s first appearance in a WTA 1000 event and fourth WTA main draw match of her career. The 21-year-old lost in the first rounds of this year’s Merida Open and Memphis Classic, in addition to her second-round exit in Granby in 2022.
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Feature Photo: Mark Blinch/Wick Photography for National Bank Open
