TORONTO : World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a setback in her U.S. Open preparations after Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated the four-time Grand Slam champion 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4 in the fourth round of the Canadian Open on Saturday.
The 16th-seeded Alexandrova battled for nearly two and a half hours to reach the quarter-finals, overcoming a second-set fightback from the reigning U.S. Open champion before sealing victory in the decider.
Sabalenka broke early in the opening set but Alexandrova recovered to force a tiebreak, which the Russian won to take the lead.
The Belarusian responded strongly in the second set, breaking for a 4-3 advantage before serving out to level the match.
Alexandrova held her nerve in the deciding set as Sabalenka’s unforced errors mounted. Serving at 4-5, the top seed saved two match points but double-faulted on the third to hand Alexandrova victory.
“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 in the quarter-finals after the former world number three defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2 6-4.
The defeat leaves Sabalenka with work to do ahead of the U.S. Open, which begins on Aug. 30, as she looks to defend her title in New York.
