Naomi Osaka cruises into quarterfinals at Canadian Open
Australian Open champion Madison Keys, meanwhile, saved two match points on the way to a three-set victory over Karolina Muchova to reach the quarterfinals.
Osaka had no need of heroics as she blew past Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in just 49 minutes.
The four-time Grand Slam champion notched the second-quickest tour-level win of her career, after a 42-minute 6-1, 6-1 rout of Ana Sofia Sanchez in the first round of the Brasil Tennis Cup back in 2016.
The dominant victory also marked the first time Osaka has conceded just one game or fewer in a completed match since a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Danielle Collins in Beijing in 2018.
Perhaps more importantly, it's the first time Osaka has reached the last eight of a 1000-level event or Grand Slam since Doha in 2024.
Osaka did not play in 2023 after the birth of her daughter and has struggled for consistency since returning to the game a year ago.
She fell in the first round of the French Open and in the third round at Wimbledon this year and arrived in Montreal ranked 49th in the world.
But she has shaken up things this week, announcing she was parting with coach Patrick Mouratoglou after less than a year and immediately getting to work with Poland's Tomasz Wiktorowski — Swiatek's former coach.
"I had a solid plan coming in here, and it just happened to work out pretty well," Osaka said of her dominant performance against Sevastova, a former world No. 11 also on the comeback trail after maternity leave who had beaten two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula in the third round.
The second-seeded Swiatek fell 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 against Dane Clara Tauson.
The 22-year-old Tauson used her creativity and firepower to frustrate the six-time Grand Slam champion from Poland, staying calm when she was broken in the second set and sealing the win when Swiatek's backhand landed in the net.
"It's tough conditions here with the wind, but I tried my best to keep my head cool and keep working," Tauson said in her on-court interview.
"Even though I got broken in the second set, I was feeling confident, and I'm really happy about the win."
Swiatek's loss came a day after top seed Coco Gauff was stunned in straight sets by Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, and both Swiatek and Gauff will look to sharpen their games ahead of the start of the U.S. Open later this month.
World No. 1 and U.S. Open defending champion Aryna Sabalenka is not competing in Montreal.
Tauson, seeded 16th, will face Keys in the quarterfinals.
Keys saved two match points on her own serve in the 10th game of the third set of her match, striping a forehand on the first and escaping the second as Czech Muchova misfired on a service return.
The American emerged with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory — her third of the season that included saving a match point.
"I'm really happy to get that win," Keys told the crowd. "After losing the first set and even being match point down, being able to figure it out — it's always a great day."
On the men's side of the tournament, which is being played in Toronto, Alex de Minaur used his speedy defense to edge American Frances Tiafoe 6-2,4-6, 6-4.
The ninth-seeded Australian, who is coming off a victory at the ATP 500 Washington Open last week and who is in search of his first Masters 1000 title, will next face American Ben Shelton, who beat Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-1).
"It was never going to be easy, and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away," De Minaur said.
"I think I battled him, myself, and the conditions, and I am happy to sneak away with a win today." Russian No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time after Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was forced to retire from the match with an injury while trailing 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (2-7), 3-0.
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