World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faced a setback in her US Open preparations, falling to Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in the fourth round of the Canadian Open in Toronto on Saturday.
Alexandrova, the 16th seed, showed great resilience over nearly two and a half hours to secure her spot in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and the reigning US Open titleholder, leveled the match after dropping the first set but could not counter her opponent's aggressive play in the decisive set.
In the opening set, Sabalenka broke early, but Alexandrova fought back to force a tiebreak and won it 7-3. Sabalenka responded by controlling the second set, breaking for a 4-3 lead before serving out to even the match.
In the final set, Alexandrova stayed composed while Sabalenka's errors mounted. Leading 5-4 on serve, the top seed saved two match points but then double-faulted on the third, handing the victory to her opponent.
“I was just trying to play every point like it was the last one because when you play against her, you don’t have many chances in the match,” Alexandrova said afterward. “Honestly, I tried not to think about the score or anything. Just hit the ball, and that’s it.”
“I’m very happy that I won because after the second set, I thought my chance had passed.”
Alexandrova will face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, who defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinals.
