Sabalenka loses to Anisimova in NBO quarterfinals

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TORONTO — Aryna Sabalenka threw a ball away in frustration.

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The No. 3 player in women’s tennis then slammed her racket to the court as emotions boiled over.

Sabalenka was down a set to an opponent she had struggled against in the past.

Things only got worse.

The Belarusian star was stunned 6-4, 6-2 by Amanda Anisimova of the U.S. in Saturday’s National Bank Open quarterfinals at a windswept Sobeys Stadium.

Sabalenka, who did not speak with reporters after the match, lost to the WTA Tour’s 132nd ranked player for a fifth time in seven meetings.

“It was really tough,” Anisimova said of the blustery conditions. “Took some time for me to get used to that.”

She broke the tournament’s No. 2 seed up 5-4 in the first set when Sabalenka — the two-time defending Australian Open champion — fired long and took out some anger on her racket.

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The 22-year-old American broke again for a 4-2 lead in the second set before serving out to take a 5-2 lead.

Sabalenka, who missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury and skipped the Paris Olympics, committed her eighth double fault of the match down love-40 to seal Anisimova’s first trip to a WTA 1000 semifinal.

“Always ends up being a very good match between us,” she said. “If I’m not 100 per cent there, I’m not likely to win against a player like that.”

Anisimova will face Emma Navarro — also into her first WTA 1000 semifinal — on Sunday after the No. 8 seed downed U.S. counterpart Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6 (5).

“Playing some great tennis,” she said of Sunday’s opponent. “I’m sure it will be a tough match.”

Defending champion and No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula defeated Peyton Stearns 6-4, 7-5 in another all-American quarterfinal showdown to also advance to the semifinals.

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She will face either No. 14 Diana Shnaider, who knocked off top seed Coco Gauff of the U.S. on Friday, or fellow Russian and No. 6 Liudmila Samsonova in the US$3.2-million event.

Pegula beat Samsonova in last year’s final in Montreal.

The five U.S.-born women in the final eight are the most at a WTA 1000 event since the format’s inception in 2009, and the most at any tour event since 2001.

“I had the opportunity to play Billie Jean King Cup earlier this year, and then the Olympics a couple weeks ago, and spend some more time with my fellow Americans,” said Navarro, 23. “It’s been really cool getting to know them better, and for sure seeing their success.”

All of Canada’s singles entries were eliminated earlier in the week — both here in Toronto and at the men’s event in Montreal — but the women’s doubles bracket still had plenty of red Maple Leafs dotting the page entering Saturday.

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Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and younger sister Bianca beat France’s Kristina Mladenovic and China’s Zhang Shuai 5-7, 7-5 (12-10) in the quarters to guarantee a least one Canadian in Monday’s final.

“We fought through from the first point all the way to the last,” said Leylah Fernandez, who was seething after getting knocked out of singles Thursday. “I’m just happy that I was able to play doubles with my sister.

“We’re in the semifinals together.”

The siblings will face the top-seeded duo of Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe after they came back to beat wild-card entry Ariana Arseneault of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Edmonton’s Mia Kupres 3-6, 6-3 (10-4).

The finals at this year’s NBO tournament are being played Monday instead of the traditional Sunday slot because of Olympic-related scheduling.

Townsend’s unlikely run as a “lucky loser” — the first to make a WTA 1000 quarterfinal — at Canada’s tennis championship came to an end on Centre Court after entering the draw as an injury replacement.

“This week has been amazing,” said the 28-year-old. “It’s not anything shy of what I believe that I could do.”

Anisimov, meanwhile, will have a chance to climb another rung in her journey after stepping away from tennis last season.

“Gained a different perspective,” said the former world No. 21. “I’m just really happy to be back.”

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