(Toronto) Aryna Sabalenka is eliminated from the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The second seed and world number three player was upset 6-4, 6-2 by American Amanda Anisimova in the quarter-finals on Saturday in a windswept Sobeys Stadium.
Sabalenka, the two-time reigning Australian Open champion, lost to the 132e world player for the fifth time in seven duels.
“I played her earlier this year at the Australian Open when she was on fire. I went in with a little bit of a different game plan and I was really happy with how I was able to execute it today,” Anisimova said.
She broke the Belarusian at 5-4 in the first set, taking the first set. Sabalenka threw her racket on the court in frustration.
Anisimova broke Sabalenka again to take a 4-2 lead in the second set. She then held serve to lead 5-2.
Sabalenka, who withdrew from Wimbledon with a shoulder injury and did not compete at the Paris Olympics, committed her eighth and final double fault of the match in the eighth game to seal the victory for Anisimova.
The latter will face American Emma Navarro, eighth seed, on Sunday, who beat her compatriot Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6 (5) earlier in the day.
“She’s playing great tennis right now. I’m sure it’s going to be a tough match,” Anisimova said of Navarro.
PHOTO CHRIS YOUNG, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Emma Navarro
Townsend’s defeat ends an eventful week for the 71e world racket. After qualifying for the main draw as an alternate, her first-round rival, Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska (16e), retired in the middle of the second round on Tuesday.
She then crushed Ontario’s Marina Stakusic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko (4e) to become the first “lucky loser” to reach the quarter-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament.
The reigning champion is still in the running
On Saturday evening, the defending champion and third seed in the tournament, American Jessica Pegula, defeated her compatriot Peyton Stearns 6-4, 7-5.
“The conditions were very difficult, there was a lot of wind and gusts,” Pegula said. “I just reminded myself what I had to focus on.”
She will face the Russian Diana Shnaider (14) in the semi-finals.e), who defeated her compatriot Liudmila Samsonova (6e) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
Shnaider had eliminated the tournament favourite, American Coco Gauff, the day before.
Last year, Pegula beat Samsonova in the final in Montreal.
This year, the final will be presented on Monday instead of Sunday due to the Paris Olympic Games.
Two Canadian duos in the semi-finals
In doubles, Quebecer Leylah Fernandez and her younger sister Bianca defeated Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic and Chinese Zhang Shuai 5-7, 7-5, 12-10 in the quarter-finals.
“We fought from the first to the last point. I’m happy to be able to play doubles with my sister,” commented the eldest of the Fernandez family.
The two sisters now have a date with Ontario’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe, who won 3-6, 6-3, 10-4 against the pair formed by Ontario’s Ariana Arseneault and Alberta’s Mia Kupres.
So there will be at least one Canadian in the final on Monday.