Top-seeded Coco Gauff beats Yafan Wang 6-4, 6-2 in Toronto in her first hard-court match since April

TORONTO (AP) — Top-seeded Coco Gauff routed Yafan Wang 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday in the second round of the National Bank Open.

Preparing for her U.S. Open title defense, Gauff played her first hard-court match since the Miami Open in April.

“It’s not easy transitioning from all these different surfaces in such a short amount of time,” said the 20-year-old American, coming off a third-round loss on clay in the Paris Olympics. “Happy to get pushed through.”

In the night session, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open winner, beat Yue Yuan 6-2, 6-2.

“I wouldn’t say that I played my best tennis,” Sabalenka said. “Really happy that I was able to stay focused no matter what.”

Elise Mertens edged Naomi Osaka 6-3, 6-4 in a late match. Osaka, a former No. 1 player with four Grand Slam titles, is returning to form following maternity leave.

Earlier, fourth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko outlasted Paula Badosa 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2. Badosa won the Washington title Sunday in her comeback from a back injury.

No. 5 Daria Kasatkina, No. 6 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 8 Emma Navarro and No. 10 Anna Kalinskaya advanced. No. 7 Madison Keys retired from her match against Peyton Stearns because of a thigh injury while down 3-0 in the third set.

Kasatkina beat Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 6-3; Samsonova topped Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 6-2; Navarro beat Magda Linette 6-2, 6-4; and Kalinskaya edged Lesia Tsurenko 6-2, 6-2.

Canadian Leylah Fernandez, seeded 15th, dropped out with a 6-4, 6-2 loss to qualifier Ashlyn Krueger. Marina Stakusic, a 19-year-old wild card from nearby Mississauga, was thumped 6-0, 6-2 by Taylor Townsend.

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Yue Yuan, of China, hits a backhand to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns the ball to Yue Yuan of China at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday, August 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus hits a backhand to Yue Yuan of China at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday, August 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Ashlyn Krueger celebrates after a break point against Leylah Annie Fernandez, of Canada, at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Marina Stakusic, of Canada, hits a forehand to Taylor Townsend at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Leylah Annie Fernandez, of Canada, reacts during her match against Ashlyn Krueger at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto, Thursday Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

United States' Coco Gauff hits a return to China's Yafan Yang during the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto , Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

United States' Coco Gauff tosses to serve to China's Yafan Yang during the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto , Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

United States' Coco Gauff keeps her eyes on the ball during a match against China's Yafan Yang at the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto , Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

United States' Coco Gauff hits a return to China's Yafan Yang during the National Bank Open tennis tournament in Toronto , Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

PRAGUE (AP) — Another night of torrential rains pounding Central Europe forced mass evacuations as the death toll rose on Sunday.

Several Central European nations have already been hit by severe flooding, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, while Slovakia and Hungary might come next, as a result of a low pressure system from northern Italy dumping record rainfall in the region since Thursday.

The floods have claimed five lives in Romania, one each in Austria and Poland. In the Czech Republic, four people who were swept away by waters were missing, police said.

Most parts of the Czech Republic have been affected as authorities declared the highest flood warnings at around 100 places across the country. But the situation was worst in two northeastern regions that recorded the biggest rainfall in recent days, including the Jeseniky mountains near the Polish border.

In the city of Opava, up to 10,000 people out of a population of around 56,000 have been asked to leave their homes for higher ground. Rescuers used boats to transport people to safety in a neighborhood flooded by the raging Opava River.

“There’s no reason to wait,” Mayor Tomáš Navrátil told Czech public radio. He said that the situation was worse than during the last devastating floods in 1997, known as the “flood of the century.”

“We have to focus on saving lives,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala told Czech public television on Sunday. His government was set to meet Monday to assess the damages.

The worst “is not behind us yet,” the prime minister warned as the flooding made its way through the country.

President Petr Pavel sounded more optimistic, saying “it's obvious we've learned a lesson from the previous crisis.”

Thousands of others also were evacuated in the towns of Krnov, which was almost completely flooded, and Cesky Tesin. The Oder River that flows to Poland was reaching extreme levels in the city of Ostrava and in Bohumin, prompting mass evacuations.

Ostrava, the regional capital is the third-largest Czech city. Its mayor, Jan Dohnal, said the city is facing major traffic disruptions in the days to come. Almost no trains were operating in the region.

Towns and villages in the Jeseniky mountains, including the local center of Jesenik, were inundated and isolated by raging waters that turned roads into rivers. The military sent a helicopter to help with evacuations.

Jesenik mayor Zdenka Blistanova told Czech public television that several houses in her and other nearby towns have been destroyed by the floods. A number of bridges and roads have been also badly damaged.

About 260,000 households were without power Sunday morning in the entire country, while traffic was halted on many roads, including the major D1 highway.

A firefighter died after “slipping on stairs” while pumping out a flooded basement in the town of Tulln, the head of the fire department of Lower Austria Dietmar Fahrafellner told reporters on Sunday.

Authorities declared the entire state of Lower Austria a disaster zone, while emergency personnel have so far evacuated 1,100 houses there.

“We are experiencing difficult and dramatic hours in Lower Austria. For many people in Lower Austria these will probably be the most difficult hours of their lives,” said Johanna Mikl-Leitner, the governor of Lower Austria.

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who was on his way to the disaster zone in Lower Austria, said that 2,400 soldiers were ready to support the relief effort.

In Vienna, the Wien River overflowed its banks, flooding homes and forcing first evacuations of houses in the river’s proximity.

Romanian authorities said Sunday that another person had died in the hard-hit eastern county of Galati after four were reported dead there a day before, following unprecedented rain.

In Poland, one person was presumed dead in floods in the southwest, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Sunday.

Tusk said the situation was “dramatic” around the town of Klodzko, with about 25,000 residents, located in a valley in the Sudetes mountains near the border with the Czech Republic.

In Glucholazy, rising waters overflowed a river embankment and flooded streets and houses. Mayor Paweł Szymkowicz said, “we are drowning,” and appealed to residents to evacuate to high ground.

Energy supplies and communications were cut off in some flooded areas, and regions may resort to using the satellite-based Starlink service, Tusk said.

The weather change arrived following a hot start to September in the region. Scientists have documented Earth’s hottest summer, breaking a record set just a year ago.

A hotter atmosphere, driven by human-caused climate change, can lead to more intense rainfall.

Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, Philipp-Moritz Jenne and Stephanie Liechtenstein in Vienna, and Stephen McGrath in Sibiu, Romania, contributed to this report.

People watch the junction of river Wien and Donaukanal channel as they flood their banks in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

The Donaukanal channel floods its banks in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

A cyclist looks at Donaukanal channel flood its banks at Urania observatory in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

The Donaukanal channel overflows its banks in central Vienna, Austria, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Heinz-Peter Bader)

A man stands in waist-deep water that has flooded the streets and houses in the town of Kłodzko, in Poland's southwest, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, after days of unusually heavy rain. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

Garages and a house flooded in the town Kłodzko, in Poland's southwest, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, after days of unusually heavy rain. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

A flooded backyard with carved wood religious figures in Kłodzko, southwest Poland, as days of unusually heavy rain have swollen rivers and spilled over embankments in the region, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Krzysztof Zatycki)

A drone image showing the floods in the Ostrava-Koblov district, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Petr Sznapka/CTK via AP)

Firefighters walk through a flooded road of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at his flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A destroyed house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents look out from a window of their flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at the river during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents clear their flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A fireman walks to a house through a flooded street in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Flooded houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Flooded houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident carries sandbags to protect his house during floods Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A group of people stand next to a flooded street in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

A firefighter wades through flooded streets in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

A dog runs through mud during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents watch the river during floods Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

An army helicopter flies over the flooded Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A man wades through flood water in Opava, Czech Republic, Sunday Sept. 15, 2024. (Jaroslav Ozana/CTK via AP)

Residents cross a bridge during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at the flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at the flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A dog stands near the flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

The flooded city center of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident carries bottles of water during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents cross a bridge during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Firemen help a resident during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A resident looks at the flooded streets of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Cars submerge in flood water in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

A flooded house in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Residents fill sand bags to protect their houses during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

The Bela River flows past a church during floods in Mikulovice, Czech Republic, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Firemen attend to a house during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Firemen drive through flooded streets of Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Firemen help residents during floods in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Flooded streets and houses in Jesenik, Czech Republic, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)