Caty McNally knocked out Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 at the National Bank Open in Toronto, and the scoreline did more than turn a match. It ended Noskova’s run, sent McNally through, and set up a Saturday Round-of-32 meeting with Alex Eala.
The win mattered because Noskova arrived as World no. 7, but McNally handled the first set on the smallest margin and then took control in the second. A 7-6 set can swing on a few points; a 6-1 set usually means one player has found the timing, the return, or the nerve that the other cannot match. McNally found all three fast enough to close the upset in straight sets.
The result also gives Toronto a fresh matchup. Eala reached the next round after beating Alycia Parks 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, coming off a maiden WTA title in Washington, and her meeting with McNally will be the first between the two players. In a tournament that has already seen Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff move on, McNally’s victory stands out because it removed one of the strongest names left in the draw.
That is what makes the second set so striking. McNally did not need a marathon or a collapse from Noskova to finish the job; she turned a tight opener into a lopsided finish, the kind of shift that usually comes when one player starts making the other defend every ball. For Noskova, the loss cuts short another expected run. For McNally, it is the kind of result that changes the rest of the week.
Now the draw points McNally toward Eala on Saturday, with both players arriving on the back of momentum and with no prior meeting to draw on. If McNally has already shown she can beat a seeded player in Toronto, the next test is whether that same control travels into a matchup that should be far less predictable.
