Clara Tauson’s emotional win – ‘Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away’
Clara Tauson broke down in tears during her on-court interview at the Canadian Open as she admitted her win over Madison Keys was a rollercoaster of emotions following the death of her grandfather a few days earlier.
Just hours after she secured one of the biggest wins over her career with a straight-set victory over six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, Tauson received the heartbreaking news that her grandfather, Peter, passed away.
After the devastating news, Tauson felt the best way to honour her late grandfather was to play the sport she loved and she produced a terrific display as she pulled off another upset, beating reigning Australian Open champion and sixth seed Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4 for her sixth win over a top-10 player.
During an emotional interview, the 22-year-old said: “Two days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away, so I really wanted to win for him today. I was told the day after I beat Iga [Swiatek], so yesterday, and I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him.
“Hopefully he’s watching.”
Tauson’s grandfather was instrumental in her tennis career, but she had managed to put all her emotions to one side for the Keys match and came away with the win.
The Dane revealed: “He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to almost every single practice from my school. It was tough news yesterday morning when I woke up, but I think it’s for the better. He was not feeling great for a while.”
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She later added: “I just pushed it aside until the match was done. And then obviously, when it’s done, you can let the emotions go a little. I tried the past 48 hours to just focus on the match, and now I got the win, and then I’m going to try to push it away again and be ready.”
Tauson, who has three WTA singles titles, is on course to reach her second WTA 1000 final following her runners-up finish at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February this year, but she will need to get past Naomi Osaka in the semi-final after the former world No 1 beat 10th seed Elina Svitolina.
The Dane leads the head-to-head 1-0 after she got the better of Osaka in January when the Japanese player retired from their Auckland match.
“She’s really tough,” Osaka said. “I played her in Auckland this year and I had to stop halfway because I was injured. So, I’m really excited that I’m healthy and I hope that it’s a good match for everyone that comes and watches.”
Tauson started the tournament at a career-high No 19 in the WTA Rankings, but she is projected to rise to No 15 while a title run could see her move to as high as No 11.
