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World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka made an early exit from the Canadian Open on Saturday after suffering a 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 defeat to Ekaterina Alexandrova in the fourth round.
Russia’s Alexandrova, seeded 16th, prevailed in 2 hours and 29 minutes at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto to reach the quarterfinals.
Sabalenka broke early to take a 2-0 lead in the opening set, but Alexandrova broke back and then moved 4-2 ahead. Sabalenka recovered to force a tiebreak, which Alexandrova won 7-3.
The top-seeded Belarusian responded in the second set, breaking Alexandrova’s serve to lead 4-3 before winning the set 6-4 to force a decider.
Sabalenka broke Alexandrova’s serve in the opening game of the final set, but the Russian recovered and later moved 4-2 ahead.
Sabalenka fought back to level the set at 4-4, but Alexandrova held serve and then earned three match points while the Belarusian served at 4-5.
The four-time Grand Slam champion saved the first two with aces before double-faulting on the third to end the contest.
Alexandrova will face ninth-seeded Ukrainian Elina Svitolina for a spot in the semifinals.
