Yastremska shocks top seed in Montreal, winning five straight games to seal victory
Photo: Dayana Yastremska defeats a top-20 opponent for the third time this season (Getty Images)
Ukraine's No. 3 tennis player and world No. 35 Dayana Yastremska has once again upset the odds by defeating world No. 11 Emma Navarro from the USA at the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal, Canada.
WTA 1000. Montreal, Round 3
Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) vs Emma Navarro (USA): 7–5, 6–4
Match details
Despite being ranked significantly lower, Yastremska had previously beaten Navarro once at the 2024 Australian Open, where she won in three sets (6–2, 2–6, 6–1).
Navarro sought revenge in Montreal but fell short again.
Yastremska had a rocky start, losing her opening serve. However, she quickly regained control, winning three games in a row. The set then continued evenly, with both players holding serve until Yastremska converted one of two set points at 6–5.
In the second set, the Ukrainian trailed 1–4 but mounted an impressive comeback, winning five consecutive games, including three on Navarro's serve, to seal the match in 1 hour and 42 minutes.
Threat to top players
This is Yastremska's third win this season over WTA top-20 players.
She previously defeated neutral-status Diana Shnaider (WTA No. 12) on clay and American Coco Gauff (WTA No. 2) on grass. The victory over Navarro marks her 18th career win against top-20 opponents.
What's next
This is Yastremska's first time reaching the Round of 16 in Montreal. The last time she reached a similar stage was in 2019, though that tournament took place in Toronto.
She will now face Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina (WTA No. 12) for a place in the quarterfinals. It was Rybakina who stopped Yastremska in the third round of this year's Australian Open.
Earlier, Marta Kostyuk advanced to the fourth round in Montreal by defeating Daria Kasatkina of Australia. Elina Svitolina and Yuliia Starodubtseva are also continuing in the tournament, with their third-round matches scheduled for the night of August 1–2.
Earlier, we wrote why Svitolina is in the top 15 while Kostyuk and Yastremska are losing ground in the new WTA rankings.
