‘I'm a fighter': Sevastova upsets Pegula at NBO after long journey back to tennis

Hamilton Spectator

2 days ago

MONTREAL - Anastasija Sevastova wasn't expecting a result like this. A year ago, she wasn't even sure she'd ever play tennis again.
Sevastova knocked out two-time reigning champion Jessica Pegula of the United States 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the National Bank Open's third round Friday afternoon, pulling off a major upset at the WTA 1000 tournament after a long journey back to the court.
In only her fourth tournament back from maternity leave, the 35-year-old Latvian tore her ACL at the ATX Open in March 2024.
She spent six weeks on crutches and was unable to practise for nine months after surgery, needing a second procedure in January to remove scar tissue before finally returning to action in April.
All in all, she spent 13 months off the WTA Tour.
'It's tough, but I think I'm a fighter, also on court,' Sevastova said. 'I didn't want to give up.
'This was really about coming back and showing that you can do it after a torn ACL, after such a setback. It was like unfinished business.'
Sevastova reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 in 2018, but now sits at 386th and only entered the main draw thanks to her protected ranking.
She rallied from a set down and broke the third-seeded — and world No. 4 — Pegula six times on 10 chances to become the second-oldest woman in the Canadian Open's past 40 years to knock out a top-five opponent.
Pegula cruised through the first set and took a 2-0 lead with an early break in the second before the momentum shifted.
The 31-year-old from Buffalo, N.Y., failed to hold serve three times, while Sevastova saved three of five breakpoints to come back and force a decisive set. In the third, Sevastova fended off all three of Pegula's breakpoint chances while converting three of her five opportunities.
'It's a bit surreal. I didn't think about winning all the match,' she said. 'I was just so — I'd like to stay as long as possible on court. In the third set, I think I really played great tennis. I didn't do any mistakes, and I just put her in bad positions so she has to do a lot of things she doesn't like. And yeah, at the end, somehow I won.'
The loss continues a poor run of form for Pegula, who won her opener in Montreal over Maria Sakkari of Greece, but exited Wimbledon and the D.C. Open after one match in July.
'It hasn't been great, to be honest. I don't really feel like I'm playing great tennis. At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don't like. It really bothers me,' Pegula said.
'You have to figure out how to get out of it and not feel sorry for yourself or make excuses. I've got figure it out. I feel like I felt pretty confident knowing I like playing here. I've always had good results here. … Did I win D.C. coming into here? No, but at the same time I've won tournaments and lost first round. Nothing in tennis makes sense sometimes.'
Sevastova will take on Japan's Naomi Osaka, who moved on to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 win over 22nd-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Osaka, a former world No. 1, hit five aces and converted six of nine breakpoint opportunities, taking the match in 72 minutes on IGA Stadium's centre court.
Sevastova said she's not feeling any different about her game after the big win. She's also not certain she'll continue her career beyond the U.S. Open later this month.
'It's a bit different now because I come with zero expectations. I mean, I don't have any good ranking and I'm not going to play every week,' she said. 'I don't know if I'm going to play after U.S. Open. Depends, maybe I'll play if I still have fun, maybe not.'
In other daytime results, 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark rolled to a 6-3, 6-0 third-round victory against Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva and Australian Open champion Madison Keys, a sixth seed, won 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 over fellow American Catherine McNally.
Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek, the tournament's second seed, headlined the night session with an easy 6-2, 6-2 win over Eva Lys of Germany in the third round.
Victoria Mboko was the only Canadian — singles or doubles — remaining in Montreal. The 18-year-old rising star from Toronto is set for a marquee fourth-round matchup Saturday against top seed Coco Gauff of the United States.
Mboko rallied from a set down to defeat Czechia's Marie Bouzkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Thursday.
This year's National Bank Open debuted a revamped 12-day, 96-player format, with the top 32 seeds receiving byes to the second round. The tournament's final is scheduled for Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2025.