Samsonova upsets Sabalenka, Pegula holds off Gauff at Canadian Open

 

[August 12, 2023]  (Reuters) -World number two Aryna Sabalenka crashed out of the Canadian Open on Friday, falling 7-6(2) 4-6 6-3 to Liudmila Samsonova in the round of 16, while top American Jessica Pegula staved off compatriot Coco Gauff 6-2 5-7 7-5 to make the semi-finals.

Sabalenka, who arrived in Montreal with a chance to claim the number one spot from Iga Swiatek, showed plenty of fight in the nearly three-hour centre court battle but won only two of 13 break points while making 11 double faults, many at key moments.

Samsonova got two breaks from six chances, which helped the 15th-seeded Russian into the last eight, where she meets Swiss Belinda Bencic, a 6-7(3) 6-3 6-1 winner over seventh-seeded Czech Petra Kvitova in a clash of former champions.

Both players had little time to savour the upsets and faced off in the quarter-finals later on Friday, with Samsonova sealing a 6-4 6-4 win to advance.

"A really long day, I don't really have the words right now, but I was happy of how I managed my energy," said Samsonova. "I was feeling great on the court."

Sabalenka, winner of three titles this season including the Australian Open, earlier hit 13 aces but more than offset those with double faults and one gave Samsonova the decisive break to move 5-3 up in the third, allowing her to serve out the match.

"Last year I played unbelievable in the States in general and this year I'm going crazy," said Samsonova, who opened the North American hardcourt season last week with a run to the semis in Washington.

Later on Friday, world number three Pegula kept her nerve against her frequent doubles partner Gauff, saving five of eight break points, and will meet Poland's world number one Swiatek in the last four.

Pegula confidently marched through the first set, but her serve lost its potency and Gauff kept the game alive when she converted a break point in the final game of the second set.

Pegula got back on track when she broke Gauff in the third game of the third set but let the world number seven convert a break point when she whacked a backhand into the net in the eighth game.

"Always a tough match," Pegula told reporters. "We know each other's games so well, so we kind of know what we're going to do to each other, know what our goal is."

Fresh off the biggest win of her career in Washington, Gauff was unable to keep the momentum on her side as she handed Pegula the break and lead in the penultimate game with a double fault, one of nine across the match.

Aug 11, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Aryna Sabalenka hits a forehand against Liudmila Samsonova (not pictured) during third round play at IGA Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Pegula, who lost in straight sets in their previous meeting in Eastbourne earlier this year, sealed the match with an ace before greeting her friend at the net.

Swiatek then battled past American Danielle Collins 6-3 4-6 6-2 in the evening.

She raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opener, but Collins broke back late in the set and carried that momentum into the second, which the tournament qualifier went on to level when Swiatek misfired on set point.

Swiatek regrouped to go on the attack again in the third, breaking Collins for a 2-1 lead and the best front-runner in the game rode that advantage to notch her 50th win of the season.

"I really wanted to play powerful and I'm pretty happy that I managed to even increase the power in the third set," Swiatek said. "For sure, I was looking for that.

"Today I felt like I really needed to go even higher in terms of the intensity. I'm really proud of myself that I made it to the semis. I'm happy that I can play another match."

Third seed Elena Rybakina saved a matchpoint against Daria Kasatkina in a marathon encounter that she won 5-7 7-5 7-6(8) shortly before the clock struck 3 a.m.

"I've played three sets, tough battles, but like this, honestly, physically it's really tough," said Rybakina, who fought hard for three hours and 27 minutes and booked an encounter with Samsonova.

"It's so late, I've never played this late. Thank you so much, and hopefully somehow I can recover for tomorrow."

(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto, Amy Tennery in New York and Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar; Editing by Ken Ferris, Miral Fahmy and William Mallard)

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