
Emma Raducanu eases into third round in Montreal after straight-sets win over Peyton Stearns
The world No 33 proved too strong for the American 32nd seed, a couple of breaks in each set clinching a 6-2 6-4 win.
Raducanu, who arrived at the WTA 1000 event fresh from an impressive semi-final showing at the Citi Open last week, had won her two previous meetings with Stearns and an early break put her in control of the first set.
She broke again in a lengthy eighth game to seal the set, but fell a break down midway through the second as double faults crept into her game.
The British No 1 broke back to level at 4-4 and a final break completed a run of four successive games to clinch a place in the last 32.
'I know Peyton is a really tough opponent, we've played two times in the past and always had really long matches,' Raducanu said after the match.
'I'm really happy with how I came through in that match. I kind of lost my focus at some moments in the second set and she took advantage, but very happy that I came through against a top opponent and happy to extend my stay in Montreal.
'I just want to say thank you [to supporters], I saw the union jack in clutch moments and I was actually born in Canada, so to come back and to me it means so much to do well here and very happy to be into the next round.'
Raducanu will face Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova or New Zealand's Lulu Sun in the third round.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Bristol Motor Speedway set to host Tennessee's first MLB game with record crowd
Bristol Motor Speedway is ready to make history by hosting the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee. The stage, or in this case the racetrack, has been set for the biggest crowd for a regular season baseball game at Saturday night's MLB Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds. 'The way the venue looks really is something that you can put on paper, but you really can't get a true vision of it until you actually put grandstands on the infield of the track, and you put 3,500 seats in the middle of 87,000 seats," Jeremiah Yolkut, MLB's senior vice president of global events, said Friday. "Those things just don't become a reality until you actually see them.' What fans will see Saturday is a baseball diamond tucked inside the infield of the half-mile bullring at Bristol. A temporary grandstand wraps around both sidelines with a press box at the top. The track's Colossus videoboard hovers over foul territory along the third base line. Any balls hit off Colossus will be foul. Three-time All-Star Sean Casey played in a March 2008 exhibition between the Red Sox and Dodgers with 115,300 at the Los Angeles Coliseum for the largest crowd ever to see a baseball game. Casey said Friday that the energy from the fans that day was 'incredible.' 'I think the Reds and the Braves taking this field with 90,000-plus people at Bristol Motor Speedway, the energy for this game is going to be off the charts,' Casey said after spending time on this field broadcasting with MLB Network. MLB didn't try to top that 2008 mark for attendance, blocking off seats in Turns 3 and 4 at the track with a racing capacity of 146,000. Officials announced Monday that more than 85,000 tickets had been sold to top the previous paid attendance of 84,587 set Sept. 12, 1954, when Cleveland Stadium hosted the New York Yankees. Yolkut said a difference between now and the 2008 game is this is a regular-season game and not an exhibition. This game wasn't about simply packing people in to set a record and telling some fans to just watch the game on the videoboard. 'We thought it was important to have as minimal obstruction seats as possible and to make sure that the fans coming were going to have a great experience," Yolkut said. The Reds held off the Braves 3-2 in Cincinnati on Friday afternoon. That gave everyone at Bristol time to prepare for Saturday's spectacle. The teams have separate clubhouses, with the Reds behind the baseball field's grandstand and the Braves just past the right field fence next to the track wall. A few miles away, the Braves threw a watch party at the Bristol Paramount Theater for Friday's game. Admission was free with souvenirs available and the concession stand open with the big screen view. To make sure fans arrive early Saturday, MLB also has a plan. The MLB Fan Zone just outside the speedway's towering walls features a 110-foot Ferris wheel, food trucks, pitching tunnels and batting cages and team mascots. Tim McGraw and Pitbull will headline a big pre-game concert inside Bristol. A flyover is planned, and Chipper Jones and Johnny Bench will handle the first pitch. The chance to see history had fans arriving Thursday to take advantage of Bristol's campgrounds. A group of Braves' fans came from Charleston, South Carolina, and set up tents. Rich Lorenzo, 40, has been watching the Braves since he grew up in Columbus, Georgia. 'I'm super excited because here I've actually run Bristol in two different cars here, and it's kind of cool to come for something other than racing,' Lorenzo said as he sat next to his tent. 'So it's a really, really amazing event to be a part of. Plus, the first Major League Baseball game in Tennessee.' The 124,000 square feet of AstroTurf will be donated after the game to East Tennessee State University as part of MLB 's Better Together social responsibility initiative. ETSU has had 45 players taken in the MLB draft. That program also held a STEM event in the infield Friday. About 60 members of the local Boys and Girls Club got to show the science and math behind hitting a baseball, running the bases or the quick reactions needed for players and NASCAR drivers. 'We also get the opportunity to invest in the community that's hosting us,' said April Brown, MLB's senior vice president of social responsibility. 'So this is incredibly important to our MLB Together pillars because education and partnerships are key to what we want to invest in.' ___


The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
NFL on the verge of selling media assets to ESPN for an equity stake in the network, AP source says
The NFL and ESPN are expected to announce an agreement next week under which most of the league's significant media holdings will go to the sports network. People familiar with the transaction said the multibillion-dollar deal would give the NFL an equity stake in ESPN. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized. It was first reported by The Athletic. The NFL and ESPN had no comment. The NFL has been trying to sell its media properties for nearly five years. ESPN and the league have been involved in on-again, off-again talks for the past three years. The proposed move comes as ESPN is expected to soon launch its direct-to-consumer service, likely before the end of August. The service would give cord cutters access to all of ESPN's programs and networks for $29.99 per month. Most cable, satellite and viewers who have streaming services will receive the service for free as part of their subscription. ESPN would get access to the popular RedZone channel, as well as NFL Network and an additional seven regular-season games (six international and a Saturday afternoon late-season contest). A couple of weeks ago, ESPN announced that NFL Network host Rich Eisen's three-hour program would air on ESPN Radio as well as stream on Disney+ and ESPN+. 'The Rich Eisen Show' is not affiliated with NFL Network. ESPN has carried NFL games since 1987 and 'Monday Night Football' since 2006. Under the current TV contract, it will have the 2027 and 2031 Super Bowls for the first time. NFL Network started in November 2003 and was the second major pro league to have its own network. NBA TV started in 1999, MLB Network in 2009 and NHL Network in the United States in 2007. ___


Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Yankees release RHP Marcus Stroman among post-deadline moves
August 1 - After more than a year and a half of struggles, veteran right-hander Marcus Stroman was released by the New York Yankees on Friday as they revamped their roster following Thursday's trade deadline. Stroman, 34, was 3-2 with a 6.23 ERA in nine starts this season, while spending 2 1/2 months on the injured list with a left knee injury. New York is set to have right-hander Luis Gil make his season debut Sunday after he missed four months with a lat injury. The Yankees also optioned right-handers Yerry De los Santos and Ian Hamilton to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Before the trade deadline came to a conclusion Thursday, the Yankees revamped their bullpen by adding right-handers David Bednar (Pittsburgh Pirates), Camilo Doval (San Francisco Giants) and Jake Bird (Colorado Rockies). They also added infielder/outfielder Jose Caballero from the Tampa Bay Rays. All four were activated to the roster. Since joining the Yankees last season, Stroman went 13-11 with a 4.69 ERA in 39 appearances (38 starts). In 11 major league seasons with four clubs, including his first six with the Toronto Blue Jays, the two-time All-Star was 90-87 with a 3.79 ERA in 270 appearances (261 starts). De Los Santos, 27, had a 1.78 ERA in 17 relief appearances with the Yankees this season, while Hamilton, 30, was 2-1 with a 4.28 ERA in 36 appearances (one start). Bednar, 30, has 101 saves with the Pirates since 2021 and was 2-5 with a 2.37 ERA and 17 saves this season. Doval, 28, hads 107 saves in five seasons with the Giants and was 4-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 15 saves this season. Bird, 29, was 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA in 45 relief appearances with Colorado. Caballero, 28, was batting .226 with an American League-best 34 stolen bases for the Rays. He was tied for the MLB lead in steals with the Pirates' Oneil Cruz heading into Friday's games. --Field Level Media