For the fifth time in 10 WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz meetings, Ekaterina Alexandrova defeated Aryna Sabalenka; this time in a back-and-forth 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 victory that spanned 2 hours and 29 minutes on Saturday night in Toronto.
"I just tried to play every single point as if it was the last one because with her, you don't a lot of chances during the match," Alexandrova said in her on-court interview. "I had a lot today, but I couldn't realise some of them. But honestly, I was trying not to think about the score or anything. Just hit the ball, and that's it.
"I'm super happy that I could win because after the second set, I thought (the chance) was already past me."
Instead, the No 16 seed absorbed the blow of dropping the second set, then another when she was broken at love to begin the decider. She absorbed that, too. And when Sabalenka broke once more to get back on serve as Alexandrova tried to take a 5-2 lead, Alexandrova answered with one final break in the last game, converting her third match point to seal the upset and advance to the quarterfinals.
It's not quite uncharted territory. This marks Alexandrova's third win over a World No 1, following victories over Iga Swiatek (Miami 2024) and Sabalenka (Doha 2025). It's also her sixth WTA 1000 quarterfinal appearance and her first since Doha 2025.
RETURN WINNERS
Not many players possess the weaponry necessary to pick apart Sabalenka's powerful serve, but Alexandrova is one of the few. Staying true to her mantra of playing every point like it's the last, she routinely attacked on return – first serve, second serve, it didn't matter. She was out in front of everything.
The result was a barrage of return winners off both wings.