Naomi Osaka secured her place in the fourth round of the Omnium Banque Nationale by defeating former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 6-4. This victory followed a dramatic second round where Osaka saved two match points against 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova. In their head-to-head encounters, Osaka remains undefeated against Ostapenko, now leading 3-0 with this latest win, having also beaten the Latvian at the 2024 US Open.

Osaka’s form on hard courts has been a focus as she seeks to regain the level that brought her four Grand Slam titles. Working with her new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, hired recently after her split with Patrick Mouratoglou, Osaka appears to be rediscovering her rhythm. This tournament marks her first appearance in Montreal since 2018. Coming off a loss at the Mubadala Citi DC Open to Emma Raducanu, Osaka has responded positively with three consecutive wins.

Ostapenko, playing her first event of the US Open series after a first-round exit at Wimbledon, struggled early. She required three sets to get past Renata Zarazua in her opening match but found herself quickly trailing against Osaka. The Japanese player dominated the first set, breaking serve three times in just 30 minutes. The second set saw more resistance from Ostapenko, who saved a match point after Osaka served for the match at 5-2. However, Osaka reclaimed control and closed out the match on her third match point when Ostapenko sent a backhand into the net. The match duration was approximately one hour and twelve minutes.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina faced an early start at the National Bank Open in Toronto but dismissed concerns with a solid win over Jakub Mensik. Despite publicly criticizing his 11AM match time, the world No. 20 seed swiftly defeated Miami Open champion Mensik 6-2, 6-4 to secure a spot in the fourth round. The match lasted 76 minutes on the Motorola razr Grandstand Court.

Davidovich Fokina, who recently reached the Mubadala Citi DC Open final with victories over Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, has managed a strong US Open series start. After overcoming Corentin Moutet in straight sets in round one, the Spaniard expressed frustration on social media about playing alone at 11AM despite multiple available courts.

Starting aggressively, Davidovich Fokina quickly built a double-break lead against Mensik, who he had already bested twice in 2025. Although Mensik mounted a brief comeback in the second set, Davidovich Fokina reclaimed control, benefiting from an unforced error tally by Mensik including a critical double fault at 0-40.

Mensik, the Masters 1000 titlist who defeated Novak Djokovic earlier this year, challenged Davidovich Fokina as he served for the match but could not convert a break point. Davidovich Fokina sealed victory with a solid forehand winner on match point, ironically finishing before his preferred 12:30 start time and advancing confidently in the tournament.

Daniil Medvedev’s recent performances have sparked concerns about his future in top-level tennis, following his third-round loss at the Canadian Open. The former world No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion fell 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to defending champion and 18th seed Alexei Popyrin. This defeat adds to a difficult year for Medvedev, who now holds a 26-16 record in 2025.

Medvedev’s struggles have been persistent throughout the season. He was eliminated in the opening rounds of both the French Open and Wimbledon, and suffered a second-round exit at the Australian Open. Currently ranked 14th in the ATP, his lowest since 2019, Medvedev has not secured an ATP title since May 2023 at the Italian Open.

Primarily known for his prowess on hard courts, Medvedev endured a surprising quarter-final loss to Corentin Moutet at the Citi DC Open, followed by his early Canadian Open exit. His conduct on court has drawn criticism, notably for smashing his racket after the Washington defeat and leaving the court without collecting his belongings in Toronto.

These recent difficulties contrast sharply with Medvedev’s peak years when he spent 16 weeks as world No. 1 and reached five Grand Slam finals. Yet, former professional Julien Varlet expressed doubts about the Russian’s current competitiveness, stating on Sans Filet, “Medvedev is stagnating, and it’s even close to regressing. He’s no longer scary. He’s not hurting.” Varlet emphasized Medvedev’s technical limitations and physical challenges, suggesting that the era of Medvedev may be over.

Looking ahead, Medvedev will compete next at the Cincinnati Open, a tournament he won in 2019 and reached the semi-finals in 2021 and 2022. This will precede his US Open campaign, where he has been runner-up twice since his 2021 victory.

This season’s difficulties mark a clear departure from the dominance Medvedev once exerted on the ATP Tour.