By Canadian Press

Canada’s Rebecca Marino posts another upset to advance at National Bank Open

Aug 11, 2021 | 11:55 AM

Rebecca Marino’s surprising run at the National Bank Open continued Wednesday, with the Canadian defeating Paula Badosa of Spain 1-6, 7-5, 6-4.

The 30-year-old Vancouver native struggled early, with Badosa jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first set.

But Marino settled in and battled back, taking the second set and breaking Badosa twice in the third before sealing the game with an ace to advance to the third round. 

The Canadian wild card saved 11-of-17 break points across the match and hit nine aces, while Badosa — No. 30 in the WTA rankings — had 10 double faults and saved 5-of-10 break points.

Marino, ranked 220th in the world, was a wild-card entry into the tournament and stunned many on Tuesday, upsetting No. 16 seed Madison Keys in straight sets to advance to the second round.

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Marino had a career-high No. 38 WTA ranking back in 2011, but stepped away from the sport for nearly five years to deal with depression. 

She wasn’t about to get much rest ahead of the third round. 

Marino was scheduled to play doubles with Montreal’s Leylah Annie Fernandez later Wednesday, with the Canadians facing American Ingrid Neel and Elixane Lechemia of France.

Fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime struggled at the men’s tournament in Toronto on Wednesday, losing 7-5, 6-4 to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia.

The Montreal native hit six aces but struggled with his forehand returns, making a number of unforced errors. 

Auger-Aliassime, who turned 21 on Sunday, saved 3-of-4 break points across the match, but double faulted on the one he surrendered, giving Lajovic a 6-5 lead. 

Lajovic broke the Canadian in the fourth game of the second set and never relinquished the lead. 

As the No. 9 seed in the tournament, Auger-Aliassime had a bye through to the second-round while Lajovic defeated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 to advance.

The pair had previously faced off at the 2020 Australian Cup, with Lajovic taking the quarterfinal match in straight sets.

Auger-Aliassime made it to the third round of the National Bank Open, formerly known as the Rogers Cup, back in 2019 before he was ousted from the competition by Russian Karen Khachanov.

The event was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian has had both highs and lows on the court recently.

He got to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in late July, then saw an abrupt end to his first Olympic experience. Auger-Aliassime faced Max Purcell in the opening round at the Tokyo Games and lost in straight sets to the 190th-ranked Australian.

Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., was set to open his tournament later on Wednesday against American Frances Tiafoe. 

The 22-year-old Canadian comes in as the tournament’s no. 5 seed.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2021.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press