Anastasija Sevastova ousts two-time defending champ Jessica Pegula in Montreal
Sevastova of Latvia had a first-serve percentage of 71 percent while rallying to upend the third-seeded Pegula.
Sevastova, 35, had a hard time explaining what happened.
"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."
Pegula appeared to be sailing when she won eight of the first 11 games. But Sevastova won the next four games to jumpstart her comeback.
After winning the second set, Sevastova lost the opening game of the third set before steamrolling Pegula the rest of the way.
Pegula was perplexed over her collapse.
"It was a strange match for me," Pegula said. "I felt like I was in complete control, and then I played a couple of terrible games."
Sevastova was ranked as high as No. 11 in 2018 before injuries hampered her career. She was ranked No. 396 entering Friday's match.
In 2018, Sevastova advanced to the US Open semifinals before losing to eventual runner-up Serena Williams.
She will next face the winner of that 2018 US Open — Naomi Osaka.
Osaka, a former No. 1 player, moved into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 22 Jalena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Osaka of Japan had five aces and converted 6 of 9 break-point opportunities.
Ostapenko trailed 3-1 in the second set when she attempted to rally. She moved within one game before Osaka closed it out.
No. 6 Madison Keys struggled early before recovering for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Caty McNally. No. 16 seed Clara Tauson of Switzerland notched a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Yuliia Starodubtseva.
There was little drama to be found in the four night matches. No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland breezed past Germany's Eva Lys 6-2, 6-2; No. 5 seed Amanda Anisimova dismissed Great Britain's Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-1 in 64 minutes; and No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine spent just 55 minutes to defeat Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-1.
The only three-setter of the bunch saw Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova take down Swiss 17th seed Belinda Bencic 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-3. Muchova saved 10 of 11 break points to keep herself afloat. — REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
37 minutes ago
- The Star
Motor racing-Leclerc puts Ferrari on pole in Hungary
Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - August 2, 2025 Ferrari's Charles Leclerc celebrates after qualifying in pole position REUTERS/Jakub Porzycki
The Star
37 minutes ago
- The Star
Rugby-Schmidt not tempted to stay on despite Wallabies beating Lions in tour finale
FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England v Australia - Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, Britain - November 9, 2024 Australia head coach Joe Schmidt before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia coach Joe Schmidt said he would be sticking to his plan to stand down next July despite his team showing some genuine promise by winning the final test against the British & Irish Lions 22-12 on Saturday. Robbie Deans was sacked as coach after his Wallabies side lost 2-1 to the Lions in 2013 but encouraging performances during this series, capped by the third test victory, meant Schmidt was faced with questions about staying on. Schmidt originally signed a short-term deal up until the end of the Lions series because of his desire to spend more time with his family in New Zealand and help look after his youngest son, who has severe epilepsy. In April, he agreed to extend the deal until next July when he is scheduled to hand over the reins to Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss. "I'm looking forward to Les Kiss coming in and taking over," the 59-year-old said when asked about extending again until the 2027 World Cup, which Australia will host. "I actually apologise to the players. A little while ago, I bit one of their heads off, and my son had had a bad day. I can normally separate the two things, but it does impact me when he's had a bad day. "I know that I've a short enough shelf life and need to be more present at home. I haven't been home for two months. "As much as I just think they're a great group of young men. There's other things that I need to make sure I tick off." In victory as in defeat, Schmidt is not given to hyperbolic comments about his team and he merely said that he had been impressed by how they bounced back after losing the second test, and the series, to a late try in Melbourne last week. He also gave a little insight into the thoroughness of his preparations after Saturday's match was suspended for 40 minutes due to a lightning warning in the area. That the Wallabies came out firing after the delay while the Lions were a bit flat was clearly no accident. "We had been warned that there might be lightning, so we had a little bit of a plan," Schmidt said. "We wanted to make sure that players kept moving. So we had different guys rotating onto the bikes. "We had four balls in the changing room that we've just thrown around just so they could stay connected, and the rest of the time it was really just trying to get us organised for the restart of the game. "The players stayed dialled in really well." (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Swimming-Walsh blocks out criticism of US team's performance at world championships
Swimming - World Aquatics Championships - Women 50m Freestyle - World Aquatics Championships Arena, Singapore - August 2, 2025 Gretchen Walsh of the U.S. during heat 11 REUTERS/Hollie Adams (Reuters) -Gretchen Walsh admits she struggles to understand the flak being directed at the U.S. team over their performance at the world championships in Singapore and said the swimmers have been competing under extremely difficult circumstances. The U.S. team were hit by an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis during a training camp in Thailand just before the championships, with several swimmers travelling late to Singapore and other having to pull out of events. On Friday, six-time Olympic champion Ryan Lochte shared an image on social media of a tombstone with the inscription: "In loving memory of United States Swimming. They set the bar high -- until they stopped reaching for it." He also added a caption referencing the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, saying: "Call it a funeral or call it a fresh start. We've got 3 years." U.S. swimming great Michael Phelps then shared Lochte's post and added: "Is this the wake-up call USA swimming needed?" Asked about the criticism Walsh, who won the 50 metres butterfly title on Saturday to add to her 100 crown in Singapore, said she was trying to ignore it. "I was made aware, and it's frustrating, but I think that personally, I am just trying to block it out and take on the meet with everything I can and just show up and race like I know how... "I think we've been dealing with a lot so it's hard to get the criticism in the first place because I don't think people quite understand the magnitude of everything going on behind the scenes. "But showing up, giving my best, and coming out a world champion twice now has been everything, and I'm just happy to keep doing it and happy that I'm feeling like myself again in the water." The U.S. top the medal standings with eight golds, one ahead of rivals Australia with one final day of competition to come. The U.S. have won only one individual gold in the men's events, Luca Urlando claiming the 200 butterfly title. Jack Alexy, who was part of the team that won the mixed 4x100 mixed freestyle gold in a world record time on Saturday, said U.S. athletes were always held to the highest of standards. "It's definitely fuel to the fire for the next couple years," added Alexy, who also has a silver and two bronze medals from his events in Singapore. "And the theme going into this meet was setting off the tone right for LA 2028. So I think we're continuing to do a better job at that, especially after tonight, and I'm really excited for the future." (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
