World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a major setback in her preparations for the US Open after losing to Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round of the Canadian Open in Toronto on Saturday.
Alexandrova, the 16th seed, defeated the reigning US Open champion 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in a fiercely contested match that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
Alexandrova Holds Her Nerve in Deciding Set
Sabalenka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, started strongly and broke early in the opening set. However, Alexandrova fought back to force a tiebreak, which the Russian won to take the lead.
The Belarusian responded impressively in the second set, breaking for a 4-3 advantage before holding her serve to level the match and force a deciding set.
Sabalenka Unable to Complete Comeback
Alexandrova maintained her aggressive approach in the final set as Sabalenka’s unforced errors increased.
Serving at 4-5 to stay in the match, Sabalenka saved two match points but was unable to complete the escape. A double fault on Alexandrova’s third match point handed the Russian a memorable victory.
Alexandrova Delighted With Victory
Alexandrova said she focused on playing each point without worrying about the score, knowing that opportunities against Sabalenka would be limited.
“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 after the match.
She added that she was “super happy” to win after believing her opportunity had disappeared following the second set.
Alexandrova Advances to Quarter-Finals
The victory sends Alexandrova into the Canadian Open quarter-finals, where she will face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.
Svitolina booked her place in the last eight with a convincing 6-2, 6-4 victory over American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova.
Sabalenka Turns Focus to US Open
The defeat ends Sabalenka’s Canadian Open campaign and provides an important test ahead of the US Open, where she will arrive as the defending champion.
With the final Grand Slam of the season approaching, the world number one will now look to regroup and sharpen her form ahead of her title defence.