(Toronto) Big surprise at the National Bank Open in Toronto: Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, 24e in the world, edged out seeded and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 on Thursday.
Posted at 6:09 p.m.
Updated at 6:25 p.m.
Falling from Leylah Fernandez in the previous round, Maia advanced to the quarter-finals on her fourth match point, when the Pole sent a forehand off target.
The match lasted three hours.
PHOTO CHRIS YOUNG, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Beatriz Haddad Maia
Swiatek hurt her own cause by committing nine double faults, which helped her rival to a 4-3 break lead.
Maia will now find Belinda Bencic or Garbine Muguruza on her way.
The latter will conclude the evening at Sobeys Stadium, after the game of Ontarian Bianca Andreescu.
Flushing Meadows champion in 2019 (and also in Toronto the same year), Andreescu will face the Chinese Zheng Qinwen.
There will also be a new champion of the event: the Italian Camila Giorgi was beaten 6-3, 0-6 and 7-5 by the American Jessica Pegula.
Seventh-seeded Pegula edged 6-4 for breakage over Giorgi, 29e at the WTA.
His next opponent will be Alison Riske-Amritraj or Yulia Putintseva.
American Coco Gauff reached the quarter-finals with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) victory over Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
Gauff, 10e seeded, closed the books on her first match point, when Sabalenka could not control her serve.
Sabalenka, seeded number 6, threw his racket to vent the frustration, after a marathon match of 3 hours 11 minutes.
Both players were hampered by the windy conditions at Sobeys Stadium.
Sabalenka had 18 double faults and Gauff had 15. Sabalenka had 42 unforced errors and Gauff had 32.
In the next round, Gauff will face Romania’s Simona Halep, the tournament’s two-time champion. Halep defeated Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann 6-2, 7-5.