Rogers Cup 2018: Simona Halep, Rafael Nadal Advance on Saturday

The respective finals for the 2018 Rogers Cup will be set by the time all is said and done Saturday.

In the women's singles draw, top seed Simona Halep and No. 15 Ashleigh Barty faced off in the first of two semifinals. Sloane Stephens and Elina Svitolina will meet in the other semifinal.

The No. 1 seed remains alive in the men's singles draw as well, with Rafael Nadal taking on Karen Khachanov. Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Kevin Anderson, eliminating the possibility of a rematch of the 2017 U.S. Open final.

Here's a recap of Saturday's action north of the border, with the full schedule available on the Rogers Cup's official website.

Results

Men's Singles

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 4 Kevin Anderson: 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(7)

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Karen Khachanov: 7-6(3), 6-4

Women's Singles

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 15 Ashleigh Barty: 6-4, 6-1

No. 3 Sloane Stephens def. No. 5 Elina Svitolina: 6-3, 6-3

Saturday Recap

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 15 Ashleigh Barty: 6-4, 6-1

Excellent serving was the key ingredient for Halep as she brushed Barty aside in straight sets.

The French Open champion won 76 percent of her first-service points and committed just one double fault over the course of the match.

Entering the match, Halep was critical of the tournament scheduling, citing her quick turnaround time between her quarterfinal win over Caroline Garcia on Friday evening and Saturday's semifinal.

"My opponent has already six hours at the hotel resting and I just finished the match and I'm doing now these things," she said of her press conference with reporters, per the Canadian Press (via Sportsnet). "I'm going to go on court and I will try to give my best. I have nothing to lose. It's a semifinal. So I just go there and I try to play."

If Halep was suffering from any lingering fatigue, it wasn't apparent based on the way in which she efficiently dispatched Barty in the second set after a back-and-forth opening frame. 

This point from the third game of the second set was the moment in which a victory felt imminent for Halep. Down 0-2 on serve, Barty appeared to have the point won with a drop shot that hit off the top of the net. Instead, Halep chased down the ball and put Barty away two shots later with an overhead volley:

Now that she's through to the final, Halep can potentially gain a measure of revenge in Sunday's final pending the result of the second semifinal. Svitolina defeated her in straight seats in the semifinals of the 2017 Rogers Cup.

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 4 Kevin Anderson: 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(7)

Tsitsipas outlasted Anderson in a three-set thriller, his second straight victory over the 6'8" South African.

The margins for this match were always going to be slim. According to the ATP World Tour's official site, Tsitsipas ranks 45th in return rating (136.0), and Anderson is all the way down in 71st (127.3).

Sure enough, Tsitsipas won 74 percent of his first-service points and 64 percent of his second-service points, compared to 83 percent and 65 percent, respectively for Anderson. They also combined for 17 aces.

Twice in the third set Tsitsipas needed to hold serve to avoid losing the match. In those two games, Anderson won three combined points.

Both players struggled mightily on serve, though, to begin the third-set tiebreaker. The returning player captured each of the first four points.

Much like in the third set, Anderson had an opportunity to put Tsitsipas away. He led 7-6 before turning serve over to his opponent. Tsitsipas held firm on the next two points, and Anderson hit a backhand too long on what was Tsitsipas' third match point:

ATPWorldTour.com noted Tsitsipas, 19, is the youngest player to reel off four wins over top-10 opponents at the same tour event.

No. 3 Sloane Stephens def. No. 5 Elina Svitolina: 6-3, 6-3

The Rogers Cup final will be a rematch of the French Open final, with Stephens advancing past Svitolina in straight sets. The 25-year-old American has a crack at revenge against Halep, who defeated her in three sets at Roland Garros.

Jumping out to big leads was key for Stephens. She was up 4-0 in the first set before Svitolina got her service game going. In the second set, Stephens went ahead 4-1.

The match's defining moment may have come in the fifth game of the second set. Svitolina couldn't convert any of her three break-point opportunities, and Stephens held serve on what was the 21st point of the game:

The second set looks a lot different if Svitolina earns the break and makes it 3-2. Instead, she put herself in what was an almost insurmountable gap since she was already down a set.

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. Karen Khachanov: 7-6(3), 6-4

Nadal needed a little under two hours to seal his berth in the final, knocking Khachanov out in straight sets.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion is known for his speed and recovery ability, but even he struggled to cope with Khachanov's massive power. The 22-year-old Russian had six aces and left Nadal with little chance when he had the chance to measure up his forehand from the baseline:

Things weren't looking good for Khachanov early in the opening set when he lost serve to fall down 0-2. But he broke Nadal's serve in the next game to set up a hard-fought set.

Nadal cruised for the most part during the tiebreaker, though, as Khachanov lost four of his five service points.

In the second set, one service break was all Nadal needed to seal the victory. He broke Khachanov in the third game and held firm over the remainder of the set.

Although Tsitsipas has defied the odds to reach the final in Toronto, upsetting Nadal may be a bridge too far. The two faced off earlier in the year in the Barcelona Open, with Nadal winning 6-2, 6-1 in the final. Granted, that was a clay court tournament, so Tsitsipas' chances may improve on the hard court in Canada.