2-time defending champion Jessica Pegula upset by Sevastova in 3rd round in Montreal

NBC Sports

19 hours ago

MONTREAL (AP) — Two-time defending champion Jessica Pegula was eliminated in the third round of the National Bank Open, falling 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to Anastasija Sevastova on Friday.
Sevastova, a 35-year-old from Latvia who was ranked 11th in 2018 but has fallen to 386th, broke the third-seeded Pegula six times on 10 chances.
'Somehow, I was down 2-0 in the second set and started to play better and better,' Sevastova said. 'Third set, I played really good. 'Just trying to stay on the court as long as possible.'
In the night session, Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek of Poland routed Eva Lys of Germany 6-2, 6-2. The second-seeded Swiatek advanced to face 16th-seeded Clara Tauson of Denmark, a 6-3, 6-0 winner over Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva.
'It's always fun here,' Swiatek said. 'It was a solid match so I'm happy to have a chance to play another one here. The match was different from how we played each other last time. I just focused on myself and knew what my plan was.'
Sevastova has played 24 WTA Tour-level matches in four years. She got a spot in the main draw with a protected ranking because of a knee injury. In March 2024, in her fourth tournament back from maternity leave, she tore her ACL at the ATX Open.
'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 is the lowest-ranked player to beat a top-10 player since Angelique Kerber edged Jelena Ostapenko last year at Indian Wells.
The loss continued a poor run for the fourth-ranked 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,' Pegula said. '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.'
Sevastova will take on Naomi Osaka, who moved to the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Osaka, a former No. 1-ranked player from Japan, is playing her first tournament with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, She had five aces and converted 6 of 9 break-point opportunities to win the match in 1 hour, 12 minutes.
'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.'
Fifth-seeded Amanda Anisimova of the United States routed Emma Raducanu of England 6-2, 6-1 at night. Anisimova will play 10th-seeded Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, a 6-1, 6-1 winner over Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the late match.
Sixth-seeded Madison Keys beat fellow American Caty McNally 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
'Today I did a good job of bouncing back after the first set,' Keys said. 'Let go of the first set and move on. Happy I was able to do that.'