Polish tennis player Maja Chwalińska lost 5-7, 1-6 to Australia's Talia Gibson in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto, falling in her first-ever appearance at this level of the tour.
Chwalińska, seeded 18th in Toronto, was ranked 74th, and the match marked her return to competition after a 36-day absence. Her last outing had come in the first round of Wimbledon, where she held a match point but ultimately lost 6-2, 5-7, 2-6 to Thailand's Mananchaya Sawangkaew, ranked 109th.
Fast start, quick collapse
Chwalińska began well, closing out the third game with a delicate drop shot after Gibson made two consecutive unforced backhand errors. She converted her first break point of three with a forehand winner down the line.
A Canal+ Sport commentator said the Polish player had played the game brilliantly and could have been forgiven for feeling like she was playing at home, as the crowd repeatedly chanted "Maja, Maja, Maja."
The advantage did not last. Chwalińska hit three double faults in the very next game, and the set turned into a tight battle in which neither player could pull two games clear for a long stretch. Gibson finally did so in the 12th game, but only after squandering a 40-0 lead and three set points with three unforced errors. On her fourth set point, she took a risk and produced a strong return to close out the set.
The opening set lasted one hour and two minutes. Chwalińska finished it with six double faults, twice as many as she had across all three sets against Sawangkaew at Wimbledon, and more than she hit in any set during her run to the final at Roland Garros.
Gibson pulls away in the second set
Chwalińska failed to convert three break points in the first game of the second set. Gibson then broke her serve after a run of strong offensive plays and went on to win six straight games, racing to a 4-0 lead.
The Australian all but stopped making unforced errors and attacked consistently, leaving Chwalińska with no answer. She won just one game in the set as Gibson closed out the match 5-7, 1-6.
What's next
Gibson will face Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova, ranked 19th, in the third round. Alexandrova beat Colombia's Camila Osorio, ranked 60th, 6-3, 7-6 to reach that stage.
