World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has been knocked out of the Canadian Open, suffering a fourth-round defeat to Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova. Sabalenka was beaten 7-6(3) 4-6 6-4 in Toronto, with Alexandrova advancing to the quarter-finals after a match lasting nearly two and a half hours.
This marks an early setback for Sabalenka ahead of her US Open defence later this month. The Belarusian has not secured a tournament win since her back-to-back victories at Indian Wells and the Miami Open in March, and has only reached one semi-final across her last six tournaments.
Alexandrova is set to face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals, after Svitolina defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2 6-4. Elsewhere in the tournament, Iga Swiatek overcame Marta Kostyuk 3-6 6-1 6-2, while third seed Jessica Pegula lost to Russia’s Diani Schnaider 6-3 6-3.