Sports
WORLD number one Aryna Sabalenka and Britain’s Cameron Norrie have been eliminated from the Canadian Open at the last-16 stage.
Sabalenka suffered a surprise 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4 defeat by Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in Toronto.
The match lasted almost two and a half hours, with Sabalenka recovering from a set down before Alexandrova sealed victory in the decider.
The Belarusian’s hopes ended when she double-faulted while serving to stay in the match.
The defeat continues a difficult summer for Sabalenka, who was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the French Open and the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Alexandrova, the 16th seed, will face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals.
Svitolina reached the last eight after defeating American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4.
Third seed Jessica Pegula also suffered an unexpected defeat, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Russia’s Diana Shnaider.
Shnaider will meet seventh seed Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals after the Polish star recovered from a difficult opening set to defeat 10th seed Marta Kostyuk 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Swiatek struggled with her serve in the opening 39-minute set, during which Kostyuk broke four times.
However, the six-time Grand Slam champion returned from a brief visit to the locker room and produced a much-improved performance to complete the comeback.
In Montreal, British number two Norrie was beaten 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) by 18th seed Arthur Fils.
Norrie missed two set-point opportunities and saved three match points in the second set before Fils eventually prevailed in the tie-break.
The Frenchman completed the victory in one hour and 43 minutes and will face Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar in the quarter-finals.
Jodar, 19, recorded one of the tournament’s notable upsets by defeating eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3.
Brandon Nakashima and Italy’s Luciano Darderi also advanced after hard-fought three-set victories.
Nakashima defeated Arthur Rinderknech, while Darderi overcame Portugal’s Nuno Borges 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Darderi even took advantage of a changeover during the match to have an espresso before completing his comeback. (BBC Sports)
M.P
Tags: Canadian Open Sabalenka