TENNIS – WORLD number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a setback in her US Open build-up after she was beaten 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4 by Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round of the Canadian Open in Toronto on Saturday.
The 16th-seeded Alexandrova fought a hard battle lasting nearly two and a half hours to secure her quarter-final berth.
Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and reigning US Open winner, recovered from a set down to force a decider but was unable to halt Alexandrova’s aggressive shot-making in the final set.
The Belarusian broke early in the opening set before Alexandrova rallied to force a tiebreak, which the Russian won to move ahead.
Sabalenka responded by seizing control of the second set with a break for a 4-3 lead before serving out to level the match.
Alexandrova held her nerve in the decider as Sabalenka’s error count rose. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, the top seed saved two match points, but a double fault on the third handed victory to the Russian.
“I just tried to play every single point as if it was the last one because with her, you don’t (get) a lot of chances during the match,” Alexandrova said in her on-court interview.
“Honestly, I was trying not to think about the score or anything. Just hit the ball, and that’s it.
“I’m super happy that I could win because after the second set, I thought (the chance) was already past me.”
Alexandrova will face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2 6-4, for a place in the semi-finals.
Third seed Jessica Pegula suffered a first career loss to Diana Shnaider, as the 22-year-old finished both sets strongly to win 6-3 6-3.
The Russian will next take on Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, after the seventh seed survived first-set service troubles to down 10th seed Marta Kostyuk 3-6 6-1 6-2.
The six-time Grand Slam winner retired to the locker room after Kostyuk broke her serve four times during a shambolic a 39-minute opening set, but looked much improved when she returned.
In the men’s side in Montreal, British number two Cameron Norrie wasted two set-point opportunities as he went down to 18th seed Arthur Fils 6-2 7-6 (10-8).
Norrie saved three match points in the second set to force a tie-break, but the Frenchman broke his serve to win in one hour and 43 minutes.
Fils will next square off with Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar in the quarter-final, after the 19-year-old shocked eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-3.
Brandon Nakashima and Luciano Darderi also marched into the next round after pulling off tough three-set wins over Arthur Rinderknech and Nuno Borges, respectively.
Italian Darderi used a mid-match changeover to enjoy an espresso as he battled to a 4-6 6-3 7-5 victory.
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