Aryna Sabalenka and Cameron Norrie lose at Canadian Open Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a surprising early exit from the Canadian Open, falling to Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in a three-set match that lasted nearly two and a half hours. The Belarusian, who had not reached a final since her Miami Open victory in March, lost 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-4 to the 16th-seeded Alexandrova. Sabalenka, who had previously been ousted in the quarter-finals of the French Open and the last 16 of Wimbledon, struggled to maintain her composure, particularly in the third set. A critical double fault while serving to stay in the match ultimately handed the victory to Alexandrova. The Russian will now face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals after defeating American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4. Alexandrova credited her win to her ability to capitalize on key moments, stating, “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.” She added, “I’m super happy that I could win because after the second set, I thought [the chance] was already past me.” The Russian’s victory marked a significant upset, as she had previously struggled against top-ranked opponents. In the women’s draw, third seed Jessica Pegula suffered her first career loss to 22-year-old Diana Shnaider, who dominated both sets to win 6-3, 6-3. Shnaider’s strong finish in the second set secured her place in the semi-finals, where she will face Iga Swiatek. The seventh-seeded Swiatek overcame early service troubles to defeat 10th seed Marta Kostyuk 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Kostyuk, a six-time Grand Slam champion, retired from the match after a chaotic first set in which she lost her serve four times.#aryna_sabalenka #iga_swiatek #cameron_norrie #ekaterina_alexandrova #artur_fils
