Norrie

Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a surprise defeat in the Canadian Open weeks before she begins her US Open title defence, while Britain’s Cameron Norrie also bowed out in the last 16.

Sabalenka lost 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4 to Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova in a match lasting almost two and a half hours in Toronto.

The Belarusian recovered from a set down to force a decider, but a double fault when serving to stay in the match handed the number 16 seed victory.

It is the latest defeat in what has been a difficult summer for Sabalenka, who was knocked out in the quarter-finals and last 16 of the French Open and Wimbledon respectively.

“I just tried to play every single point as if it was the last one because with her, you don’t [get] a lot of chances during the match,” Alexandrova said.

“I’m super happy that I could win because after the second set, I thought [the chance] was already past me.”

The Russian will face Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina for a place in the semi-finals, after she defeated American eighth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-2 6-4.

Third seed Jessica Pegula suffered a first career loss to Diana Shnaider, as the 22-year-old finished both sets strongly to win 6-3 6-3.

The Russian will face Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals, after the seventh seed overcame opening set service troubles to defeat 10th seed Marta Kostyuk 3-6 6-1 6-2.

The six-time Grand Slam winner retired to the locker room after Kostyuk broke her serve four times during a shambolic a 39-minute opening set, but looked much improved when she returned.

In the men’s event in Montreal, British number two Cameron Norrie spurned two set-point opportunities as he was defeated 6-2 7-6 (10-8) by 18th seed Arthur Fils.

Norrie saved three match points in the second set to force a tie-break, but the Frenchman broke his serve to win in one hour and 43 minutes.

Fils will meet Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar in the quarter-finals, after the 19-year-old upset eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3 6-3.

Brandon Nakashima and Luciano Darderi also progressed to the next round with gruelling three-set victories over Arthur Rinderknech and Nuno Borges respectively.

Italian Darderi used a mid-match changeover to enjoy an espresso as he battled to a 4-6 6-3 7-5 win.

Cameron Norrie’s promising run at the Los Cabos Open in Mexico ended with a three-set semi-final defeat by defending champion Denis Shapovalov.

Norrie had returned to some form by reaching the last four – having previously lost six matches in a row – but was beaten 6-3 5-7 6-4 by his fellow left-hander.

The British number two, who won the Los Cabos title in 2021, was broken in his first service game of the match to fall 2-0 down and, despite chances to break back, failed to do so on the way to losing the opening set.

Norrie made a disappointing start to the second set when he struck a couple of stray forehands in the first game before his Canadian opponent broke to love with a stunning forehand return.

Norrie immediately levelled and then carved out two set points on Shapovalov’s serve at 6-5 up – taking the second when a forehand volley caught the line.

The third set started disappointingly for Norrie as he was broken in what proved to be a crucial first game.

Shapovalov held his serve throughout the set and completed victory in two hours 39 minutes.

He will play France’s Arthur Gea in the final after he beat Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 in the other semi-final.

British number two Cameron Norrie ended a six-match losing streak with a 6-4-6-1 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Mifel Open in Mexico.

Norrie had not won since the Madrid Open in April, a run which included a first-round exit to qualifier Michael Zheng at Wimbledon.

Playing at the tournament in Los Cabos where he won his first ATP title in 2021, Norrie recovered from having his serve broken twice in the first set, including in the opening game.

The fifth seed dropped only five points on serve in the second set and broke American Kovacevic twice to set up a meeting with Australian James Duckworth or American Aidan Mayo in the last 16.

“I’m so happy,” said Norrie, who retired from his French Open first-round match in May because of a rib injury.

“I hadn’t had a win in a while. I’ve been battling some injuries and a bit of confidence, so I was a bit nervous.

“But I played well in the big moments and managed to stay calm.”

British number two Katie Boulter was knocked out of the Citi Open in the first round, extending her losing run to four matches.

American Ashlyn Krueger triumphed 3-6 6-2 6-2 in Washington DC as Boulter won only four points from 2-0 up in the deciding set.

Norrie had played just one match on grass before this year’s Wimbledon after retiring injured in the French Open first round with a rib injury.

And the former world number eight looked rusty as he broke Zheng, ranked 144th, just once in the entire match.

Zheng hit 21 aces to Norrie’s four, while the 22-year-old committed just four double faults to Norrie’s 10.

Harriet Dart came close to completing a gritty comeback win but ultimately fell 6-3 3-6 6-4 to former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

The pair were scheduled to play on Court 17 on Monday, but Raducanu’s withdrawal saw their match moved to Court One.

Wildcard Dart made sure fans with tickets for the show court were not disappointed as she forced a deciding set against the world number 31 in an entertaining two-and-a-half hour display.

Ostapenko will face either Antonia Ruzic of Croatia or compatriot Darja Semenistaja – the lucky loser who replaced Raducanu in the draw.

Meanwhile, 17-year-old British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic lost 6-2 6-1 to 2021 Olympic champion and 11th seed Belinda Bencic.

Felix Gill and Max Basing were beaten on their Grand Slam main-draw debuts, losing to 23rd seed Rafael Jodar and qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki respectively.

Alicia Dudeney, who was also making her main-draw major bow, lost 6-3 6-3 to American Alycia Parks.

Mimi Xu and Hannah Klugman, both navigating the step up to senior tennis, lost to Daria Kasatkina and 2024 Wimbledon singles champion Barbora Krejcikova respectively, while Oliver Tarvet was beaten by 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech in four sets.

There are 19 home players across the two singles draws – although 17 are playing opponents ranked inside the world’s top 55.

Norrie’s fitness and stamina have been among his biggest assets during his career – as well as his desire to play as much tennis as possible.

However, after playing in the back-to-back Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome across April and May, Norrie opted to go to the Geneva Open in the week leading in to Roland Garros.

He lost his opening match to Argentina’s Mario Navone on Wednesday and said afterwards he “probably should have retired” from it.

“I overdid it with the preparation and not listening to my body and my mind,” he told BBC Sport on Saturday.

“I kept pushing because I had never retired before in a match in my career, so I wasn’t sure what to do.”

That run is now over, but former British number one Annabel Croft believes Norrie made the right choice.

“It’s far better not to exacerbate the injury problem and get back to the UK, have rest and treatment on it, and then start building up to Queen’s Club and Wimbledon,” she said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

“We’ve heard from [Novak] Djokovic that his body doesn’t respond as well as it used to and into his thirties it was getting more difficult for his body to respond.

“This sport is so demanding and I can see why Norrie would have overtrained.”

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller added: “It is in Norrie’s DNA – he just can’t really leave it alone.

“That is what’s made him the player he is today. He loves being out there.”

Norrie was the last British singles player standing at 14 Grand Slams over the past five years, including the Australian Open in January.

Fearnley begins his French Open campaign later on Tuesday, while Katie Boulter and Francesca Jones have reached the second round in the women’s singles.