Anisimova topples Sabalenka to reach Toronto semis

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Anisimova topples Sabalenka to reach Toronto semis

Amanda Anisimova has upset second seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-2 to reach the National Bank Open semi-finals at the WTA event in Toronto, her first victory over a top-10 player in nearly two years.

One of five US quarter-finalists, the 22-year-old Anisimova took a mental-health break from tennis last year. She has two WTA Tour titles – in 2019 in Bogota and 2022 in Melbourne.

“She’s an amazing player, so it’s always really tough playing against her,” Anisimova said about Sabalenka, the *********** Open winner the last two years.

Anisimova improved to 5-2 against Sabalenka after losing the previous two matchups.

“I played her earlier this year at the *********** Open when she was on *****,” Anisimova said. “I went in with a little bit of a different game plan, and I was really happy with how I was able to ******** that today.”

Sabalenka, from Belarus, had eight double faults in windy conditions, the last at love-40 in the final game. She withdrew from Wimbledon because of a shoulder injury and skipped the Paris Olympics

Anisimova will face eighth-seeded Emma Navarro in an all-********* semi-final. Navarro beat fellow ********* Taylor Townsend 6-3 7-6 (7-5).

“It was really tough,” Navarro said. “The wind was swirling.”

Townsend was the first “lucky ******” to reach a WTA 1000 quarter-final. She got into the main draw as an injury replacement.

“This week has been amazing,” Townsend said.

In the night session, third-seeded defending champion Jessica Pegula faces Peyton Stearns in another all-********* matchup, and No.14 Diana Shnaider of Russia plays No. 6 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia.

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