Eleven days ago, Ekaterina Alexandrova suffered heat exhaustion in 34-degree conditions and had to be carried off the court during a WTA 250 tournament in Memphis. On Saturday night in Toronto, the Russian beat world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. 

Alexandrova, seeded 16th, came through 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes to reach the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open, denying Sabalenka a chance to defend her run at the tournament and leveling their career head-to-head at 5-5. 

Reflecting afterwards, Alexandrova described simply trying to make the most of every opportunity against a player who rarely offers many.

“I just tried to play every single point as if it was the last one. With her, you don’t get a lot of chances during the matches. I had a lot today. But I couldn’t realize all of them. Honestly, I was trying not to think about the score, about anything. Just hit the ball, and that’s it.

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“I’m super happy I could win. After the second set I thought my chance already passed me.”

Asked whether their now-even head-to-head gave her extra belief she could disrupt Sabalenka’s rhythm, Alexandrova was characteristically modest.

“I don’t know if I could get her off the rhythm. She played great. I don’t know. Maybe I was lucky on some shots. Honestly, I don’t know. Okay, super happy with that result. Beating number one, it always feels nice. I will just enjoy tonight.”

The match had swung repeatedly, with Sabalenka racing to a 2-0 lead in the first set before Alexandrova reeled off four straight games, only for Sabalenka to fight back to 4-4. 

Double faults from both players in the 11th and 12th games forced a tie-break, which Alexandrova closed out by winning five of the last six points. Sabalenka leveled by taking the second set, but a string of unforced errors in the tenth game of the decider handed Alexandrova break and match points, and after Sabalenka saved the first two, a final double fault ended the contest.

In her first-round match at the Memphis Classic in late July, Alexandrova, the top seed, collapsed on court while trailing 5-4 in a deciding set against 16-year-old qualifier Kristina Liutova, having just received a time violation in 34-degree heat after more than three hours on court. She was unable to continue and was taken off in a wheelchair, ending her tournament alarmingly. 

Before this stretch, Alexandrova had a modest 11-18 record for the season, and now with this win, that same record looks different. She will be facing ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, who defeated Amanda Anisimova in straight sets earlier in the day. The duo last played a match five years ago, which was won by the Russian, but the overall head-to-head favors the Ukrainian with a 3-1 score. The Monday quarterfinal clash will have extra heat with Ukraine-Russia dynamics in play, making it exciting for the spectators.