Rublev upsets Sinner; Anisimova shocks Sabalenka
No. 5 seed of Russia capped a busy Saturday with an upset of the No. 1 seed, topping Jannik Sinner of Italy 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open in Montreal.
Rublev saved 10 of 12 break points for the match and overcame an ugly second set by winning the first three games of the third en route to his second victory of the day. He previously dispatched American qualifier Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-2. The Russian finished with 22 winners against six unforced errors, while Nakashima had nine and 13, respectively.
“I don’t know, not much to say,” Rublev said after knocking off Sinner. “Jannik is an amazing player and he’s playing unbelievable for the past two years. I was just hoping that I would be able to fight with him, to show great tennis. In the end, I think we had a lot of great rallies, a lot of long rallies.”
Sinner was also in action earlier Saturday, with his 6-4, 6-3 sweep of No. 15 seed Alejandro Tabilo of Chile.
“Tricky opponent, tricky conditions,” Sinner said of his meeting with Tabilo. “It is difficult playing against this type of player. Huge lefty, big potential. I had to be very careful, looking a lot to make the game.’’
Tropical Storm Debby rolled through Montreal on Friday, postponing all matches and forcing some players — like Rublev and Sinner — to play twice on Saturday.
Among those two-match competitors were French qualifier Arthur Rinderknech and No. 4 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. They faced off in the third round, and Hurkacz came away with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Earlier in the day, Rinderknech ousted Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-2, while Hurkacz picked up a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win over Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis. Hurkacz will collide with Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the quarterfinals.
ANISIMOVA OUSTS NO. 2-SEED SABALENKA
The United States’
Amanda Anisimova cruised to a stunning 6-4, 6-2 sweep of No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
Anisimova saved 5 of 5 break points in the first set, then trailed 2-1 in the second before capturing the final five games of the match to advance to her first WTA 1000 semifinal.
“She’s an amazing player, so it’s always really tough playing against her. I played her earlier this year at the Australian Open when she was on fire,” Anisimova said of Sabalenka. “But I went in with a little bit of a different game plan, and I was really happy with how I was able to execute that today.”
Next up for Anisimova is countrywoman and No. 8 seed Emma Navarro ,a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) winner over another American, Taylor Townsend, on Saturday.
In another all-American battle, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula suffocated any chance of an upset with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Peyton Stearns. Pegula knocked off Stearns in 89 minutes. She is headed to her fourth consecutive National Bank Open semifinal.
In the semifinals, Pegula will take on Diana Shnaider, the No. 14 seed, who upset No. 6 seed Liudmila Samsonova 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in an all-Russian matchup.
ETC. Golf:
Sweden’s Robert ●
Karlsson broke away from a four-way tie for first with a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take sole possession of the lead after two rounds of the Boeing Classic in Snoqualmie, Wash.
Karlsson turned in a bogey-free round that featured seven birdies to leave his fellow first-round coleaders in the dust. He entered Sunday’s final round at 13-under 131 for the tournament, two strokes ahead of South Korean Charlie Wi, who had low-round honors with an 8-under 64.
“I feel pretty comfortable with where I am at the moment, kind of showing some signs the last few weeks,” Karlsson said Saturday. “You never know, but my goal is just to try to be as focused on the things that I can control as possible tomorrow and we’ll see what comes next.”