Alcaraz stunned by Paul in Toronto quarters
IMAGE: Carlos Alcaraz plays a shot against Tommy Paul of USA (not pictured) during quarterfinal play at Sobeys Stadium. Photograph: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sportsrts/Reuters
Carlos Alcaraz’s US Open preparations suffered a setback on Friday as the world number one fell to American Tommy Paul 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open.
For the third consecutive match, the Spaniard got off to a sluggish start on the hard courts in Toronto, falling behind early and double faulting to hand Paul the first set.
Alcaraz upped his game in the second, hitting a sensational tweener for a winner to level at 3-3 and breaking at love for a 4-3 lead the next game en route to leveling the contest.
But Paul took control in the decider, smoking a backhand at the charging Alcaraz that he could not put back in play for a break and pouncing on a poorly executed drop shot from Alcaraz on match point to dismiss the top seed.
The 26-year-old Paul will rise to a career-high ranking of at least 12 on Monday and will face either Gael Monfils or Jannik Sinner in the semis.
Earlier, Alex de Minaur pulled off a gritty 7-6(7), 7-5 upset of second seed Daniil Medvedev at the Canadian Open on Friday to reach his first semi-final at a Masters 1000 event where he will face Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
The speedy Australian fell 5-2 behind in the opener and had to fend off three set points in the tiebreak before clinching the first set against the 2021 champion in Toronto.
The 24-year-old De Minaur had to rally from a break down twice in the second set before showing his resilience again thanks to his brilliant return game, sealing victory on the Russian’s seventh double fault.
Up next is a meeting with red-hot Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who swept aside American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 earlier on Friday.
Davidovich Fokina holds a 2-1 lead over De Minaur in their head-to-head meetings.
Samsonova upsets Sabalenka, Pegula holds off Gauff at Canadian Open
IMAGE: Liudmila Samsonova serves against Aryna Sabalenka (not pictured) during third round play at IGA Stadium. Photograph: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports/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 last 16, while top American Jessica Pegula held off compatriot Coco Gauff 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 to reach 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 will have little time to savour the upsets with their quarter-final set for later on Friday.
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 either Poland’s world number one Swiatek or fellow American Danielle Collins in the next round.
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.
Next up for Pegula is world number one Iga Swiatek, who battled past American Danielle Collins 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the evening session.
Swiatek 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.
