Rogers Cup 2018: Serena Williams Withdraws, Sister Venus Wins in Monday Action

The 2018 Rogers Cup is missing some star power after Sportsnet's Caroline Cameron reported Serena Williams withdrew for personal reasons. Roger Federer also already withdrew from the tournament, but there are still plenty of notable names in the field with action starting Monday.

Simona Halep, Venus Williams, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev are all included in this year's tournament, with the men playing in Toronto and the women playing in Montreal.

The men's and women's draws can each be found on the Rogers Cup website.

Below is a list of Monday's first-round results following a day that saw play temporarily suspended for rain during the afternoon and some of the late matches unable to be completed.

Monday Men's Scores

Benoit Paire defeats Jared Donaldson, 6-3, 6-4

Marton Fucsovics defeats Joao Sousa, 6-4, 7-6 (2)

Fernando Verdasco defeats Peter Gojowczyk, 6-2, 6-2

Ilya Ivashka defeats Yuichi Sugita, 6-2, 6-3

Peter Polansky defeats Matthew Ebden, 7-6 (3), 6-3

Daniil Medvedev defeats (13) Jack Sock, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Bradley Klahn defeats David Ferrer, 7-6 (5), 6-4

(12) Pablo Carreno Busta defeats Yoshihito Nishioka, 6-0, retire

Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeats Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 4-6, 6-3 6-4

Milos Raonic defeats (10) David Goffin, 6-3, 6-4

(11) Diego Schwartzman defeats Kyle Edmund, 6-1, 6-2

Borna Coric defeats Vasek Pospisil, 6-4, 6-3

Monday Women's Scores

(9) Karolina Pliskova defeats Katerina Siniakova, 6-4, 6-4

Anett Kontaveit defeats Ekaterina Makarova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

Anastasija Sevastova defeats Aleksandra Krunic, 6-1, 6-0

Lucie Safarova defeats Daria Gavrilova, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5

(10) Julia Goerges defeats Timea Babos, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4

Venus Williams defeats Caroline Dolehide, 7-5, 6-1

Lesia Tsurenko defeats Katie Boulter, 6-4, 6-2

Magdalena Rybarikova defeats Barbora Strycova, 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2

Notable Results

Karolina Pliskova prevailed in straight sets against Katerina Siniakova, 6-4, 6-4, but it was a closely fought battle for the No. 9 seed.

The statistics bear out how close it was, with Siniakova notching five aces to Pliskova's four and each player winning 74 percent of their first-service points, per the Rogers Cup website. However, Pliskova won 39 percent of her break points compared to 33 percent for Siniakova, taking advantage of opportunities at a slightly higher clip.

The narrow margin in break points made the difference with each set coming down to a single break by the end.

Elsewhere, the hope of a Williams sister title is still alive, even with Serena sidelined, after Venus cruised to a straight-sets victory over Caroline Dolehide in a battle of Americans, 7-5, 6-1.

It wasn't all easy for Williams, though, as she prevailed in a difficult first set with a break to stave off a tiebreak before dictating the pace throughout the quick second. Her victory maintained the potential for a third-round showdown against top-seeded Halep in what figures to be one of the biggest draws of the entire women's side.

On the men's side, one of the higher seeds fell in a three-set thriller when Daniil Medvedev prevailed against American Jack Sock, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Medvedev tallied 10 aces to Sock's seven, but it was his ability to prevent Sock from taking advantage of break opportunities that made the difference. According to the Rogers Cup website, Medvedev saved 82 percent of the break points he faced during the victory.

Sock wasn't the only notable player to lose on the men's side, as 10th-seeded David Goffin fell in straight sets to Milos Raonic.

Raonic dominated the match with his powerful serve, posting 13 aces to Goffin's two and winning an astounding 100 percent of his first-service points, per the tournament's website. He will be a particularly difficult out in the later rounds if he continues to serve like he did Monday.