Sevastova stuns defending champ Pegula
Sevastova, the world number 386 from Latvia, snapped fourth-ranked Pegula's 11-match WTA Canada win streak, the longest since Serena Williams reeled off 14 consecutive wins in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
Sevastova, 35 won the most recent of her four career WTA titles at the 2019 Baltic Open in her homeland.
She will try to extend her Montreal run in a round of 16 meeting with Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion from Japan who ousted another Latvian, 22nd seed Jelena Ostapenko, 6-2, 6-4.
Pegula, last year's US Open runner-up in her best Slam showing, was the first woman to win back to back Canadian Open titles since Martina Hingis in 1999-2000.
Osaka, twice a winner at both the US and Australian Opens, is one match away from her first quarter-final run at either a Grand Slam or WTA 1000 event since she returned from maternity leave at the start of 2024.
Sevastova, who returned from her own maternity leave in February 2024, collected her first victory over a top-five opponent since beating Czech Karolina Pliskova in 2017.
Pegula broke to open the match and again at love to claim the first set when Sevastova sent a forehand long.
A forehand winner earned Sevastova a break for a 5-4 lead in the second set and she denied Pegula on three break chances before holding in the final game to force a third set.
Pegula sent a down-the-line forehand wide to surrender a break and a 2-1 lead to Sevastova, who broke again to grab a 4-1 advantage when Pegula swatted a forehand long.
Sevastova held to 5-1 and broke again on a forehand winner to end the match after one hour and 41 minutes.
"It was a weird match for me," Pegula said. "I felt like I had total control and then I just played a couple of terrible games for, like three games.
"That totally flipped the momentum of the match, and I went from being up a set and 2-0 to being down very quickly.
"I don't really feel like I'm playing great tennis," Pegula admitted. "At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don't like. I've got to figure it out."
World number 49 Osaka broke on a double fault to capture the first set in 30 minutes.
In the second set, Ostapenko netted a forehand to hand Osaka a break for a 3-1 lead.
After another exchange of breaks Osaka served for the match with a 5-3 lead, but Ostapenko saved a match point on a forehand crosscourt winner and broke when Osaka sent a forehand beyond the baseline.
The Japanese star responded by breaking Ostapenko at love in the final game.
"Granted, she broke me a couple times, but she's a really good returner, so I can't take that personally," Osaka said.
"I went in there knowing she's a great player and if I give her a chance she's going to hit a winner on me, so I just tried to keep my pace and stay as solid as I could."
Also advancing was Australian Open champion Madison Keys, who beat fellow American Caty McNally 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Later matches include Polish second seed Iga Swiatek against Germany's Eva Lys, with the winner advancing to face Tauson. AFP
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