On Tuesday in Montreal, 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki comes out of retirement, playing her first match in over three-and-a-half years.
Wozniacki retired after the 2020 Australian Open, but shortly before this year’s Wimbledon, the mother-of-two announced she was coming out of retirement. Caroline faces Australian qualifier Kimberly Birrell in her return to tennis on Tuesday.
Due to rain on Monday in Montreal, Tuesday is scheduled to be a busy day of WTA action, though more rain in the forecast may complicate matters. The Order of Play includes Canadian stars Bianca Andreescu and Leylah Fernandez, newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, and a clash of Major champions between Victoria Azarenka and Sloane Stephens. And last year’s Wimbledon champ, Elena Rybakina, faces a resurgent Jennifer Brady, who upset Jelena Ostapenko in just Brady’s third tour-level singles match in nearly two years.
ATP matches in Toronto in Tuesday feature Andy Murray, Casper Ruud, and Canada’s own Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent match in both Montreal and Toronto, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule in each city. Tuesday’s play begins at 11:00am local time in both cities.
Caroline Wozniacki (WC) vs. Kimberly Birrell (Q) – 12:30pm on Court Central in Montreal
In January of 2020, Wozniacki walked away from the sport after a third round defeat to Ons Jabeur in Melbourne. But in an essay for Vogue at the end of June, Caroline announced she would be returning to WTA action. Feeling she was hitting the ball better than ever on the practice court, she decided to begin a new chapter of her career at the age of 33.
Wozniacki won this event back in 2010, and was the runner-up in 2017. Overall she is 16-10 in Canada. Birrell is a 25-year-old Australian making her main draw debut at this tournament, and playing only her second match at WTA 1000 level.
This is a rather kind draw for Wozniacki’s comeback, especially at this level, in an opponent who has never been ranked inside the top 100. It will be extremely interesting to see how Caroline’s confidence from the practice court translates to the competitive court in her return.
Lorenzo Sonego vs. Andy Murray – 12:30pm on Center Court in Toronto
Murray is 25-12 in what is easily his best season since 2017. But at this point in his career, the Majors are the definitive priority for the 36-year-old, especially Wimbledon, and he must be bitterly disappointed by his failure to reach the second week of a Major, which he now hasn’t done in over six years. At Wimbledon, he lost a heartbreaker in the second round to Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets.
Sonego is 19-20 on the year, yet is a streaky player who is capable of taking out top names. We saw that a few months ago at Roland Garros, when he upset Andrey Rublev in the third round.
Their only previous meeting took place just six months ago on a hard court in Doha, with Murray outlasting Sonego in a third-set tiebreak after saving three match points. And with a record of 26-7 lifetime in Canada, and being a three-time champion of this event, Andy is again a favorite to defeat Lorenzo on Tuesday.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Danielle Collins (Q) vs. Elina Svitolina – Collins has a losing record in a season where she’s played only 23 matches. Svitolina is 15-7 at tour-level since returning from becoming a mother just this past April, with a French Open quarterfinal and a Wimbledon semifinal to her name. Danielle dominated their only prior encounter three years ago in Brisbane by a score of 6-1, 6-1.
Leylah Fernandez (WC) vs. Peyton Stearns (Q) – Fernandez is currently ranked 88th in the world, as she’s yet to rediscover her form after the foot injury she suffered at last year’s Roland Garros. Stearns is a 21-year-old American who has 38 wins this year at all levels, and she defeated Leylah earlier this year in Rabat on clay.
Marketa Vondrousova (9) vs. Mayar Sherif – This will be Vondrousova’s first match since her shocking triumph a few weeks ago at Wimbledon. Sherif is at a career-high ranking of No.31 thanks to 27 wins this year at all levels, most of which came on clay.
Camila Giorgi (Q) vs. Bianca Andreescu (WC) – Andreescu is only 15-15 on the year, though she is 9-3 at her country’s biggest tournament, having won the title four years ago. Giorgi was the champion here in 2021, and also won a hard court title earlier this season in Merida. Six years ago in Washington, a young Bianca beat Camila in three sets.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (10) vs. Max Purcell (Q) – It’s been a rough season for Auger-Aliassime, who has battled injury and illness and is just 13-12. Purcell has an impressive 41 match wins this year at all levels, and he upset Felix two summers ago at the Tokyo Olympics.
Victoria Azarenka (16) vs. Sloane Stephens – These two have a controversial history, as in the 2013 Australian Open semifinals, Azarenka took a nearly 10-minute medical timeout after failing to convert five match points, saying she has having trouble breathing due to a rib injury. Vika would eventually prevail and win the title, and overall narrowly leads their head-to-head 5-4.
Jiri Lehecka vs. Casper Ruud (3) – Ruud reached a final a few weeks ago on clay in Bastad, and has advanced to the quarters or better in both of his appearances in Canada. Lehecha survived a third-set tiebreak on Monday against Brandon Nakashima. Last year on clay on Gstaad, Casper overcame Jiri in straights.
Elena Rybakina (3) vs. Jennifer Brady (PR) – Rybakina is 37-9 this year, and this will be her first match since a disappointing defense of her Wimbledon title, losing to Ons Jabeur in the quarterfinals. Brady’s aforementioned upset of Ostapenko on Monday night ended in a third-set tiebreak, after Jen saved two match points.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play for the WTA is here, and the ATP is here.
