Canada Open 2024: Priyanshu Rajawat Ousts Top Seed to Seal Semi-Final Spot; Treesa-Gayatri Bow Out

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Priyanshu Rajawat kept India's challenge in the Canada Open 2024 alive after stunning top seed Anders Antonsen to reach the semi-finals on Friday (July 5) night at the Markin-MacPhail Centre in Calgary, Canada.

World No. 39 Rajawat, who has beaten superior ranked opponents, showcase his abilities when he held his nerve to beat world No. 4 Antonsen 21-11, 17-21, 21-19 in men's singles quarterfinals that lasted an hour and 19 minutes on court 1.

With the scores level at 9-9 in the first game, Rajawat collected successive points to ease to a 21-11 win, taking a leading in the match. But the Dane fought back to force the decider with a 21-17 win in the second game.

In the tightly contested decider, Rajawat staged a comeback from 10-11 down at the interval and held his nerve to pull off the win when the scores were level at 19-19. In the end he sealed the contest with a 21-19 win, his first against a top 10 player.

The 22-year-old will next take on Alex Lanier of France in the last four clash on Saturday (July 6). This Canada Open semi-final will be his second World Tour Super 500 semifinal, having reached the Australian Open last four in 2023.

Earlier in the Canada Open 2024, Rajawat defeated World No. 24 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the round of 32 and World No. 33 Takuma Obayashi in the last 16 on his way to the semifinals.

While Rajawat carried the Indian challenge into the semi-final stage, it was the end of the road for women's doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who were upset by Hsieh Pei Shan and Hung En-Tzu of Chinese Taipei.

The third-seeded Indians were handed a 18-21 21-19 16-21 defeat by Chinese Taipei's unseeded duo in the women's doubles quarter-final match that lasted an hour and five minutes on Court 3.

Earlier on Thursday (July 4), Krishna Prasad Garaga and Sai Pratheek K, Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika Shivani, Tanya Hemanth and Anupama Upadhyaya all bowed out following defeats in their respective second round matches.