[1/3] Aug 7, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Victoria Azarenka serves against Magda Linette (POL) (not pictured) in first round play at IGA Stadium. Azarenka was unfazed by the rain, charging ahead 5-2 in the opening set before closing it out with a break just before play was stopped a second time. She romped through the second set, winning 24 of 31 points and breaking Poland's Linette three times. When play restarted, Zhu pounced, winning two points to clinch the tie-break 10-8. But the 31-year-old Czech quickly refocused in the decider, applying pressure and breaking Zhu three times to move onto the second round and a meeting with Polish world number one and reigning US Open champion Iga Swiatek.

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Persons: Victoria Azarenka, Magda Linette, Eric Bolte, Karolina Pliskova, Azarenka, Sloane Stephens, Ukraine's, Pliskova, Zhu Lin, Sascha Bajin, Zhu, Zhu pounced, Iga Swiatek, Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka, Steve Keating, Jamie Freed Organizations: Victoria, IGA, Canadian, Warsaw, Thomson Locations: Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Stuttgart, Pliskova, Czech, Toronto