'Hopefully he's watching': Emotional Clara Tauson takes down AO champ after learning grandfather's passing
- Christian Montegan
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Clara Tauson faced more than one challenge in her Montreal quarter-final, nearly two days after learning of her grandfather's passing.
The 22-year-old played sublime tennis to defeat reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4 without dropping serve.
Yet to drop a set at the WTA 1000 tournament, Tauson must get past a resurgent Naomi Osaka to reach the biggest final of her young career.
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Moments after securing the victory, she spoke on court about the loss of her grandfather, Peter, who sadly died earlier this week.
"I really wanted to win for him today," said Tauson, who is guaranteed a maiden top 15 entry. "I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he's watching.
"He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to almost every single practice from my school.
"It was tough news yesterday morning when I woke up, but I think it's for the better. He was not feeling great for a while."
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To Tauson's credit, she was able to stay in the zone and produce a scintillating performance in Canada.
"I just pushed it aside until the match was done. And then obviously, when it's done, you can let the emotions go a little," she said.
"I tried the past 48 hours to just focus on the match, and now I got the win, and then I'm going to try to push it away again and be ready."
The 16th seed continues her fine form, having already knocked out Iga Świątek in the previous round.
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