Madison Keys’ Opponent Shares Tearful Canadian Open Tribute After Personal Loss- “Hopefully He’s Watching”

Clara Tauson had never gone beyond the third round at a WTA 1000 event until this year. She had also never beaten multiple Top 10 opponents in a single tournament until Tuesday, when, on the back of her win against Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, she bested the reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open.

A stunned crowd at Centre Court watched as the Dane snatched the opening set from Keys in just 27 minutes, saved all the break points she faced, and won 59 percent of her points to clinch a rather one-sided 6-1, 6-4 win. Little did the onlookers know that the 22-year-old wasn’t just playing for glory, but to honor someone whose contributions are too precious to forget.

With tears in her eyes and voice breaking under the weight of a huge loss, Tauson revealed, “Still in shock. 2 days ago, my grandfather unfortunately passed away. So I really wanted to win for him today.” She further went on to add, “I’m definitely not done yet. I was told the day after I beat Iga (Swiatek). So yesterday, I really wanted to come out here and show my best tennis for him, and hopefully he’s watching.” Tauson had kept things bottled up inside her so that she could focus on the match. She explained that she is going to do the same again before her next challenge. But there was no reason to hold back in the meantime.

“He used to coach me a little bit playing tennis and drove me to almost every single practice from my school,” Tauson shared, about an hour after her win. “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.”

This was Clara Tauson’s second meeting with Madison Keys, and with this win, she has now taken her H2H record to 2-0 against the American. She’ll next face either Elina Svitolina or Naomi Osaka in her next match. And if her matches against Swiatek and Keys were any proof, it is abundantly clear that her ability to keep calm under tough situations makes her a formidable opponent, to say the least. 

Figuring out the secret to success for the ‘Giant Slayer’ Clara Tauson in Montreal

With her incredible victory against Iga Swiatek in the previous match, she not only managed to snap the Polish star’s nine-match winning streak but also became only the fifth player to beat both Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in 2025. “Unreal, totally unreal,” Tauson began her on-court interview with a laugh. Talking about her secret to success, Clara Tauson had then said, “I was playing good tennis in tough conditions here with the wind, but yeah, I really tried my best to keep my head cool and keep working, even though I got broken in the second set.“

Just like her grandfather, Clara Tauson’s other family members, including her parents and even her uncle, have played a crucial role in her rapid rise. Born in 2002, Tauson was introduced to the sport at a very early age, thanks to her uncle, Michael Tauson, a former ATP pro, who reached a career-high ranking of world number 101.

Once during an interview in 2021, while talking about her deep connection with tennis, she said, “Tennis is the only sport I’ve ever played. My uncle, Michael Tauson, is a former ATP player, so everybody in the family has tried tennis. It’s been going on for generations.” Can Clara Tauson make her family prouder by lifting the title in Montreal? Share your thoughts in the comment box.