MONTREAL – Defeating 10th seed Elina Svitrina 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday night, he was featured in the first National Bank Open semi-finals.
Osaka went on to play against No. 16 seed Clara Towson.
Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who reached number one in the rankings, has continued to perform at his best in the WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the final in Miami in 2022.
Indigenous Japanese people are seeking her eighth career title and her first career title since Australia’s opening in 2021.
Canada’s teenager Victoria Mboko will face Kazakhstan’s ninth seed Elena Rivakina in the other semi-finals. Mboko, who plays in his first main draw at National Bank Open, will advance to the WTA top 50 after starting a non-Top 300 year.
The 18-year-old from Toronto defeated five top opponents heading into the semi-finals, including top-seeded Cocogoff in the fourth round.
Towson gave his victory to his grandfather Peter, who passed away two days ago in an on-court interview at Igastadium.
“I really wanted to win for him today,” she told the crowd before she shed tears. “I really wanted to get out here and show you my best tennis for him, hopefully he’s watching.”
Towson said he only learned about his grandfather’s death on Monday, the day after she eliminated Wimbledon champions and third-placed Iga Swiatek 7-6 (1), 6-3.
She spoke of him as one of the biggest supporters of her career.
“He played a bit of tennis for me and drove me to almost every practice from my school,” said the 22-year-old Denmark native. “Woke up yesterday morning was tough news, but I think it’s going to get better. He wasn’t feeling well for a while.”
Towson hasn’t lost a set in the tournament.
Key failed to convert two break chances in the first game. After the Americans held the serve, Towson won the next five games and won the first set.
“It’s not my best performance today,” said Keys, who won this year’s Australian Open. “She played great tonight. She played incredibly well. She served really well. It was one of the things that made me feel like I was continuing to try something else.
“It would be really hard to break her when she serves that way.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.