Coco Vandeweghe Keeps on Rolling in Montreal; Sharapova Ousted by Suarez-Navarro

American qualifier Coco Vandeweghe, the niece of former NBA star Kiki Vandeweghe, followed up her upset victory over Ana Ivanovic on Wednesday by knocking off another former world number one, Jelena Jankovic, to move into the Rogers Cup quarterfinals in Montreal.

Vandeweghe battled out a tough 7-6(8), 2-6, 7-5 victory over the seventh-seeded Serb a day after she hung on to beat Ivanovic. The 22-year old from New York City is one of the rising stars on the WTA circuit, and has been grabbing a lot of people’s attention with her play recently.

“I’ve been making progress in each and every tournament this year,” said Vandeweghe. “I won my first title in s-Hertogenbosch. I’m really happy with how my season is going. All the obstacles I’ve come across, I’ve been able to meet, challenge and beat most of them.”

The only American left in the field, other than the Williams sisters, will now move on to face Ekaterina Makarova, who pulled off an upset of her own on Thursday. The 19th-ranked Russian knocked off second-seeded Petra Kvitova 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 to move into the quarterfinals.

The rain, which has been frequent in Montreal this week, caused two delays during the match after each of the first two sets. After Makarova took the first set, Kvitova cruised in the second to force a deciding third frame.

“Today was a really tough match with the two delays,” said Makarova. “The first set was really good and we both played really well. Then she just crushed me in the second set. When we came back for the third set, I tried to be more aggressive and I returned really well.”

Makarova broke serve twice in the third set to seize control of the match, and would eventually serve out the set while up 5-2. The win gives her seven career wins over top 5 opponents, and her fourth this season alone.

“I’m really happy to come through here,” she added. “It’s my first time in the quarterfinals at this tournament, which is really exciting. I’m looking forward to another fight tomorrow.”

Maria Sharapova saw her tournament come to an end on Thursday as the 14th-seeded Carla Suarez-Navarro pulled off the shocker 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to advance into the quarterfinals.

The match looked like it would not require a third-set after Suarez-Navarro captured the first set and led 4-2 in the second, but Sharapova fought back and rattled off the next four games to push the match into a third frame.

The third belonged to the Spaniard as Sharapova’s sharpness eluded her and the match concluded when the Russian’s backhand went into the net.

“I thought my opponent played a really good match,” said Sharapova. “I couldn’t find my rhythm from the beginning of the match. Always had my back against the wall throughout the match.”

Suarez-Navarro now draws a matchup with Venus Williams in the quarterfinals. Williams outlasted German Angelique Kerber 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to push into the final eight. She had previously never won a match in Canada but has reeled off three straight victories this week.

Venus’ younger sister Serena faced no issues in her third-round bout on Thursday, defeating Lucie Safarova 7-5, 6-4 after sitting through a short rain delay. A three-time titlist at the Rogers Cup, Serena will meet Carolina Wozniacki in a much-anticipated quarterfinal matchup.

Wozniacki steamrolled over American Shelby Rogers 6-1, 6-0 on Thursday to move into the final eight.  The Dane has dropped just six games in their three matches this week.

“I felt really comfortable and confident,” said Wozniacki. “I served and returned well. She’s a tough player. She has some big shots. I was just able to neutralize them and play my game.”

The other quarterfinal match will feature third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska and eighth-seeded Victoria Azarenka.