Victoria Azarenka produced a splendid performance as she defeated Petra Kvitova in straight sets on an explosive day in Toronto which also saw victories for Serena Williams and Simona Halep, whereas Ekaterina Makarova and Caroline Wozniacki were ousted.
Wozniacki's pains continue as she and other seeds fall
In a year which promised so much for the former world number one and yet has produced so little, Caroline Wozniacki will once again reflect on what could have been as her march towards the Rogers Cup faltered at the second hurdle. Losing to the talented Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, Wozniacki fell short when it mattered most, as her opponent pounced at key times in the match to secure a 7-5 7-5 win.
In their most recent meeting at Eastbourne pre-Wimbledon, Wozniacki was forced to retire during the first set to hand Bencic the win before the Swiss went on to win in the final. However, controversy surrounds Wozniacki's appearance in Canada, as she suggested she was forced to play in the tournament by the WTA despite injury.
Elsewhere in the tennis, Ekaterina Makarova stumbled out of the tournament as she was defeated by Polona Hercog of Slovenia in three sets. Makarova, the world number 12 who reached the semis in last week's Citi Open, had endured a torrid grass court season but looked to have put this beyond her with a solid week in the US. However, her poor form would resurface as she was outplayed by Hercog for most of the match and only forced it to go to a third by virtue of a tie break in the second set.
In a game devoid of little quality throughout, Hercog usurped her more fancied opponent 6-2 6-7 (2) 7-5 to secure only her second victory against the Russian in seven attempts.
And the seeds continued to tumble out of the tournament with Lucie Safarova, Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova joining their contemporaries in the loser's circle. Safarova, who reached the French Open final, threw away a set lead as she lost to the talented young Russian Daria Gavrilova 4-6 7-5 7-5.
Muguruza, another maiden grand slam finalist in 2015, was simply outclassed by the spirited Lesia Tsurenko who produced a stunning performace to defeat her 7-5 6-1.
Azarenka produces the performance of the night
But the performance of the night may go to Victoria Azarenka who achieved her biggest victory yet as she continued her comeback from an injury hit 2014 to defeat Petra Kvitova in straight sets without barely breaking a sweat. Azarenka, who reached the Wimbledon quarter finals this year, barely gave the Czech an inch as she easily swept to a 6-2 6-3 victory. The match was far closer than the scoreline suggests, but Azarenka never looked like losing.
Best of the rest
Finally, in better news for the seeds, Serena Williams, Andrea Petkovic, Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber all won through to spare the blushes of the tournament organisers. Williams, cruised through against Flavia Pennetta after losing the first set, Petkovic defeated Heather Watson to end british interest, Halep dismantled Jelena Jankovic and Kerber defeated American hopeful Madison Keys.