Rogers Cup 2018: Novak Djokovic, Caroline Wozniacki Upset on Thursday

While we are still in the early rounds of the Rogers Cup, there were some big names in action Thursday and not all of them were able to survive the mayhem. 

Due to weather delays at the start of the tournament, organizers had to squeeze as many matches as possible throughout the day. This caused some players to compete in multiple singles matches in one day, which was as much of an endurance competition as it was a test of skill.

This led to plenty of noteworthy moments throughout the day in Toronto.

Note: Full results available at RogersCup.com.

Results

Men's Singles

No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov def. Frances Tiafoe: 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(4)

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 9 Novak Djokovic: 6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-3

No. 2 Alexander Zverev def. Daniil Medvedev: 6-3, 6-2

No. 4 Kevin Anderson def. Ilya Ivashka: 7-5, 6-3

No. 6 Marin Cilic def. No. 11 Diego Schwartzman: 6-3, 6-2

Robin Haase def. Denis Shapovalov: 7-5, 6-2

Karen Khachanov def. No. 8 John Isner: 7-6(5), 7-6(1)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Stan Wawrinka: 7-5, 7-6(4)

Women's Singles

No. 3 Sloane Stephens def. Carla Suarez Navarro: 6-2, 7-5

No. 1 Simona Halep def. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova: 7-6(9), 4-6, 7-5

Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki: 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4)

No. 15 Ashleigh Barty def. Alize Cornet: 7-6(3), 6-4

Johanna Konta def. Victoria Azarenka: 6-3, 6-1

No. 13 Venus Williams def. Sorana Cirstea: 7-6(4), 6-4

Kiki Bertens def. No. 8 Petra Kvitova: 6-3, 6-2

Anastasija Sevastova def. No. 10 Julia Goerges: 6-3, 7-6(2)

No. 5 Elina Svitolina def. Johanna Konta: 6-3, 6-4

No. 6 Caroline Garcia def. Maria Sharapova: 6-3, 6-2

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 13 Venus Williams: 6-2, 6-2

No. 14 Elise Mertens def. Aryna Sabalenka; 2-6, 7-6, 6-0

Notable Matches

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 9 Novak Djokovic:  6-3, 6(5)-7, 6-3

Novak Djokovic's first tournament since winning Wimbledon didn't exactly go as planned as he suffered a Round of 16 loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Greek underdog was impressive with his serve and wasn't broken all match. He had 11 aces and won 77 percent of his total serves, including 84 percent of his first attempt.

He eventually closed the match with his serve:

"I feel very proud for me, myself, and my country," Tsitsipas said after the match, per ATPWorldTour.com. "I'm putting Greece more deep into the map of tennis. So I'm pretty sure I'm making my family proud, all of those people that are watching, my coach, my father. It was a very emotional win. I've never felt so many emotions after a victory."

The 19-year-old was already the No. 27 player in the world entering the week and is clearly on the rise.

Meanwhile, Djokovic shouldn't be too concerned about the loss but will need to have a cleaner performance if he wants to make a deep run in the U.S. Open.

Aryna Sabalenka def. No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki:  5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4)

Many expected Caroline Wozniacki to have two matches scheduled for Thursday, but an early loss ended her day—and her tournament—earlier than expected. 

The final point was a microcosm of the back-and-forth play throughout the match between these two competitors:

Aryna Sabalenka won just a few more overall points than her opponent but came through when it mattered, including in the third set tiebreak. She also performed well in key points of each game, excelling in both saving her break points and forcing breaks.

Meanwhile, Wozniacki was sloppy with her serve while tallying seven double faults to go with just three asses.

The No. 2 player in the world is coming off a second-round loss in Wimbledon and has lost in the second round once again despite getting a bye in Round 1. This is not likely how the talented player expected her summer to go.

Sabalenka couldn't keep it up in her next match, however, falling in three sets to No. 14 Elise Mertens in the third round.

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 13 Venus Williams: 6-2, 6-2

Both Simona Halep and Venus Williams were forced to play two matches Thursday but Halep seemed much fresher in the nightcap.

The No. 1 seed needed three sets to escape her second-round match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a battle that took more than three hours to end.

However, she remained full of energy against Williams, seemingly covering the entire court:

Halep was great in all aspects of the game, taking out an opponent that didn't seem like she was competing at 100 percent.

Unfortunately, there won't be much time for a break as she must prepare to take on Caroline Garcia Friday.

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Stan Wawrinka: 7-5, 7-6(4)

Stan Wawrinka hasn't had a strong 2018 season as he recovers from his knee problems, but he did everything he could to beat Rafael Nadal. The top seed in the men's draw was simply too good.

Wawrinka was a few points away from taking the second set before Nadal came back with three straight games, eventually closing things out with a tiebreak win to seal the match.

The Spanish star looked as good as ever, hitting impossible shots throughout the day:

Even when Wawrinka was playing well, Nadal would come back with a strong backhand or a forehand winner. He might have beaten at least 90 percent of competitors playing the way he did, but he ran into a dominant opponent who was able to close things out in straight sets.

This is a positive step going forward for the Swiss star, although Nadal reaffirmed that he is the favorite in this event.

Friday Order of Play

Men's Draw

No. 4 Kevin Anderson vs. No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov (12:30 p.m. ET)

No. 2 Alexander Zverev vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Following previous match)

Robin Haase vs. Karen Khachanov (Not before 6:30 p.m. ET)

No. 6 Marin Cilic vs. No. 1 Rafael Nadal (Not before 8 p.m. ET)

Women's Draw

No. 15 Ashleigh Barty vs. Kiki Bertens (12:30 p.m. ET)

No. 3 Sloane Stephens vs. Anastasija Sevastova (Following previous match)

No. 1 Simona Halep vs. No. 6 Caroline Garcia (Not before 6:30 p.m. ET)

No. 5 Elina Svitolina vs. No. 14 Elise Mertens (Following previous match)