MATCH NOTES - NATIONAL BANK OPEN AUGUST 9 - 15, 2021 - WTA Tennis
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MATCH
NOTES
NATIONAL BANK OPEN
AUGUST 9 – 15, 2021MATCH NOTES
NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA
AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490
SEMIFINAL MATCH-UPS
1
ARYNA
SABALENKA 2-1
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
KAROLINA
PLISKOVA 4
Pliskova came from a set down to win their Wimbledon SF last month... Sabalenka prevailed in
Friday’s all-Belrusian QF with Azarenka to register her 38th main draw victory of the season, more
than any other player... Pliskova has won 11 of her past 13 matches... Sabalenka has struck a Tour-
leading 265 aces this season, while Pliskova ranks second on 257
CAMILA
GIORGI 1-3
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
JESSICA
PEGULA
Pegula beat Giorgi in their most recent encounter, in the final at 2019 Washington DC... Giorgi has
won 14 of her last 18 matches, including upsets of 10 Top-50 opponents... Pegula has been extended
to three sets in every round, while Giorgi is yet to drop a set... Both players are bidding to reach their
first WTA 1000-level final
A LOOK AT THE SEMIFINALISTS
PLAYER TOURNAMENT YTD W/L CAREER W/L YTD PRIZE $ CAREER PRIZE $ YTD TITLES TITLES
W/L
[1] Aryna Sabalenka 5-2 38-12 164-74 1,880,473 8,684,782 2 10
[4] Karolina Pliskova 10-6 26-14 347-180 1,793,370 22,194,803 0 16
Jessica Pegula 4-0 28-14 60-48 910,706 2,275,943 0 1
Camila Giorgi 5-3 19-12 171-150 378,777 4,472,064 0 2
POTENTIAL FINAL HEAD-TO-HEADS
PLAYER GIORGI PEGULA
SABALENKA Tied 1-1 Sabalenka leads 2-1
PLISKOVA Pliskova leads 5-3 Pliskova leads 4-0
SEMIFINAL RECORDS
PLAYER PREVIOUS SF SF W/L* FINAL W/L
[1] Aryna Sabalenka 2021 Wimbledon (SF) 15-7 10-5
[4] Karolina Pliskova 2021 Wimbledon (R-UP) 30-15 16-15
Jessica Pegula 2021 Doha (SF) 3-2 1-2
Camila Giorgi 2021 Eastbourne (SF) 8-7 2-6
* Not including wins by walkoverMATCH NOTES
NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA
AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490
RANKINGS WATCH WINNING HABIT
Aryna Sabalenka can move to a career-high No.2 by Success this week has seen Aryna Sabalenka move to
reaching the final. the top of this season’s match wins leaderboard:
With a win today, Karolina Pliskova will return to the Player W-L Best Result
Top 5, moving from No.6 to No.4.
Aryna Sabalenka 38-12 Champion: Abu Dhabi, Madrid
Jessica Pegula can equal her career-high ranking of Ons Jabeur 36-14 Champion: Birmingham
No.25 by reaching the final and will move into the Top 20 Ashleigh Barty 35-7 Champion: Yarra Valley, Miami, Stuttgart,
with the title. Wimbledon
Barbora Krejcikova 35-10 Champion: Strasbourg, Roland Garros,
If Camila Giorgi lifts the title, she can move back inside Prague
Top 35 for the first time since May 2019. Coco Gauff 31-13 Champion: Parma
SERVING NOTICE
In their three matches this week, Aryna Sabalenka and
RANKINGS WATCH
Karolina Pliskova have hit 31 and 24 aces, respectively.
All four semifinalists have advanced to this stage of
No player has struck more than the duo in 2021:
the National Bank Open for the first time in the career.
Karolina Pliskova was the only one to have previously
Player Aces in Montréal Aces in 2021 progressed beyond the third round at the event, while
Aryna Sabalenka 31 272 Jessica Pegula is making her tournament debut.
Karolina Pliskova 24 257
The last time the tournament featured four semifinal
Ashleigh Barty - 255
debutantes in the same year was 2003, when the line-up
Ons Jabeur 20 229 was comprised of Justine Henin, Lina Krasnoroutskaya,
Veronika Kudermetova 11 210 Elena Dementieva and Paola Suárez.
A SNAPSHOT OF 2021
• Top 10 Debut (1): Iga Swiatek (at No.9 on May 17), Barbora Krejcikova (at No.10 on August 9)
• Fewest games dropped en route to a title: Paula Badosa (20, Belgrade)
• Lowest-ranked player to triumph: María Camila Osorio Serrano (No.180, Bogotá)
• Youngest title winner: Coco Gauff, Parma (17)
• Oldest title winner: Angelique Kerber, Bad Homburg (33)
• Aces leaders: Aryna Sabalenka – 272, Karolina Pliskova - 257, Ashleigh Barty - 255, Ons Jabeur - 229
• Most aces in a match (21): Karolina Pliskova (d. Ostapenko 6-7(9) 6-4 6-3 – Stuttgart, 2r)
• Singles titles (4): Ashleigh Barty (Yarra Valley Classic, Miami, Stuttgart, Wimbledon)
• Doubles titles (4): Aoyama/Shibahara (Abu Dhabi, Yarra Valley, Miami, Eastbourne), Krejcikova/SIniakova
(Gippsland Trophy, Madrid, Roland Garros, Olympics)
• Most Top 10 wins (6): Ashleigh Barty (No.8 Sabalenka, No.5 Svitolina and No.9 Andreescu at Miami, No.9
Ka.Pliskova, No.5 Svitolina and No.7 Sabalenka at Stuttgart); Jessica Pegula (No.5 Svitolina at Australian Open,
No.6 Pliskova at Doha, No.6 at Dubai, No.6 Pliskova at Miami, No.2 Osaka at Rome and No.10 Pliskova at Berlin)
• Longest Match: 3h 55m – Kristina Kucova d. Ekaterine Gorgodze 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 7-6(3) (Gdynia QF)MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
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Tournament Website: www.omniumbanquenationale.com | @OBNMontreal | facebook.com/obnmontreal
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[1] ARYNA SABALENKA (BLR #3) VS. [4] KAROLINA PLISKOVA (CZE #6)
Head-to-head: ARYNA SABALENKA leads 2-1
2021 WIMBLEDON GRASS (O) SF KAROLINA PLISKOVA 5-7 6-4 6-4
2018 CINCINNATI HARD (O) R2 ARYNA SABALENKA 2-6 6-3 7-5
2021 EASTBOURNE GRASS (O) QF KAROLINA PLISKOVA 6-3 2-6 7-6(5)
SABALENKA PLISKOVA
Career Prize Money $8,684,782 Career Prize Money $22,194,803
Plays Right-handed Plays Right-handed
Date of Birth (Age) May 5, 1998 (23) Date of Birth (Age) Mar. 21, 1992 (29)
Singles Titles 10 Singles Titles 16
Tournament W-L (MD) 5-2 Tournament W-L (MD) 10-6
YTD / Career W-L (MD) 38-12 / 164-74 YTD / Career W-L (MD) 26-14 / 347-180
3-Set W-L (YTD / Career) 7-11 / 51-33 3-Set (YTD / Career) 10-4 / 111-61
Tie-Break W-L (YTD / Career) 7-2 / 33-24 Tie-Break (YTD / Career) 5-5 / 68-73
Hard Court W-L (YTD / Career) 18-6 / 124-46 Hard Court (YTD / Career) 240-120
Top 10 W-L (YTD / Career) 2-2 / 14-14 Top 10 W-L (YTD / Career) 1-2 / 30-40
Coach Anton Dubrov Coach Sascha Bajin
SABALENKA:
Montréal
• Making third appearance at National Bank Open,where her best previous result was 3r run in 2018 (l. Mertens)
• After 1r bye, has defeated Sloane Stephens, Rebecca Marino and Victoria Azarenka so far this week to reach
her fifth SF of the season
• Has hit 31 aces this week,including 18 in her opening win over Sloane Stephens, equalling her career-high in a
single match. As a result, here season total is 272, overtaking Ashleigh Barty (255) as the season's ace leader
• Now owns 38 wins this season - the most on Tour, ahead of Jabeur (36), Krejcikova (35) and Barty (35)
• Faces No.6 Karolina Pliskova in SF today; owns 14 wins in career over Top-10 players, including twi this
season (No.3 Halep at Stuttgart and No.1 Barty at Madrid)
• Record against seeded opponents this season is 11-7 (including Azarenka in previous round)
• Since the Tour's restart last year has compiled a 5-2 record in SF matches
• Owns 10 WTA titles on hard courts
• Has won a WTA titles when seeded No.1 twice in her career, at 2019 Shenzhen and 2020 Linz
• Best result by a Belarusian woman at this event was Runner-Up finish by Natasha Zvereva in 1988 (whilst
representing USSR)
• During last year's North American swing reached 2r at Lexington, 3r at Western & Southern Open and 2r at US
Open
• Is currently ranked No.3; can climb to No.2 this week if she advances to the final
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1MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
Season
• Made 2r at Olympics (l. Vekic)
• Suffered 2r exit at Berlin (after 1r bye, l. Keys) before runs to QF run at Eastbourne (l. Giorgi) and first major SF
at Wimbledon (l. Ka.Pliskova). Also won doubles title w/Azarenka at Berlin
• Reached 3r at Rome (l. Gauff ) and Roland Garros (l. Pavlyuchenkova)
• At Madrid, captured first WTA title on clay (d.Barty in F); rose to career-high No.4 in the rankings following the
tournament (May 10, 2021)
• Finished R-Up at Stuttgart (l. Barty); defeated No.3 Halep in SF
• Suffered back-to-back losses to Muguruza in the Middle East swing, falling at QF stage at Dubai and in 2r at
Doha (as defending champion). Followed this with QF at Miami (l. eventual champion Barty in 3s)
• Made R16 at Australian Open (l. S.Williams in 3s); bounced back to lift doubles title w/Mertens (d.
Krejcikova/Siniakova in F), subsequently rising to No.1 in WTA doubles rankings
• Opened 2021 season by winning Abu Dhabi (d.Kudermetova in F) – her third consecutive title – and extending
her career-best winning streak to 15 matches. Run was ended in 2r at Gippsland Trophy (after 1r bye, l. No.94
Kanepi)
Career Milestones
• Won final nine matches of 2020 to end the year with back-to-back titles – at Ostrava (d. Azarenka in F) and Linz
(d. Mertens in F) – and ranked at No.10
• Having also taken home the silverware at Doha (d. Kvitova in F), was one of two players (also Halep) to lift
three singles titles during disrupted 2020 season
• At Ostrava completed the sweep of titles by teaming up with Mertens to win the doubles
• Ended as World No.11 for the second straightyear in 2019 after capturing three WTA singles titles at Shenzhen
(d. Riske in F), Wuhan (d. Riske in F) and Zhuhai (d. Bertens in F)
• Having also won Wuhan in 2018 (d. Kontaveit in F), became first player to successfully defend Wuhan title
• Made Top 10 debut on January 28, 2019 following 3r run at 2019 Australian Open
• Ended 2019 at No.2 in WTA doubles rankings after capturing fi rst Grand Slam doubles trophy at US Open
(w/Mertens, d. Azarenka/Barty in F). Earlier in the season, the pair claimed the ‘Sunshine Double’ by winning
back-to-back titles at Indian Wells (d. Krejcikova/Siniakova inF) and Miami (d. Stosur/ Zhang in F)
• Qualifi ed for WTA Finals Shenzhen in doubles(w/Mertens), going 1-2 in the round robin stage
• Enjoyed breakthrough season in 2018, lifting twotitles, at New Haven (d. Suárez Navarro in F) andWuhan (d.
Kontaveit in F), winning 46 matchesand fi nishing at No.11 in the rankings
• Also in 2018, was R-Up at Lugano (l. Mertens)and Eastbourne (l. Wozniacki), made SF atCincinnati, reached
five QFs and produced acareer-best Grand Slam run to R16 at US Open
• Entered Top 50 on April 16, 2018, after Lugano run, and Top 20 on August 27 of the same year,following New
Haven title
• Broke into Top 100 at No.76 on October 16, 2017after reaching first tour-level fi nal at Tianjin (l.Sharapova).
Also in 2017 made SF run at Tashkent (l. Babos) and lifting WTA 125k Seriestitle at Mumbai (d. Jakupovic)
• Made Grand Slam main draw debut 2017Wimbledon, falling in 2r (as qualifi er, d.Khromacheva, l. Witthoeft)
• Fell 1r on main draw debut at 2017 Dubai (asqualifi er, l. Ka.Bondarenko)
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2MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
• Member of Belarus Fed Cup team that lost toUSA in 2017 final – scored fi rst Top 20 win ofcareer with defeat of
No.13 Stephens during2017 Fed Cup fi nal in Minsk
• WTA qualifying debut came at 2016 Rabat
• Lifted first three ITF Circuit titles in 2015,including a 13-match win streak towards theyear’s end, bringing back-
to-back trophies in Antalya, Turkey
• Made debut on ITF Circuit in Minsk in 2012
PLISKOVA:
Montréal
• Making seventh appearance at National Bank Open, where her previous best results were QF showings in 2017
(l. Wozniacki) and 2019 (l. eventual champion Andreescu)
• After 1r bye, has beaten Donna Vekic, Amanda Anisimova and Sara Sorribes Tormo so far this week to reach
her third SF of the season
• Has struck 24 aces this week, taking her season total to 257 - second on Tour, behind Sabalenka (272)
• Faces No.3 Aryna Sabalenka in SF today; hit 14 aces to Sabalenka’s 18 to beat the Belarusian in this year’s
Wimbledon SF
• Record in WTA SF matches since the Tour’s restart last August is 3-0
• Owns 10 WTA titles on hard courts
• Only player from Czech Republic to reach SF (from six in the starting field)
• Three Czech women have won this title:Marsikova (1977-78), Sukova (1986) and Kvitova (2012)
• Is currently ranked No.6, having returned to Top 10 following Wimbledon R-Up finish; can return to the Top 5 at
No.4 by winning today’s match
• During last year's North American hard-court swing, fell 2r at Western & Southern Open and US Open
Season
• Reached 3r at Olympics (l. Giorgi)
• Returned to form at Wimbledon where she reached second Grand Slam final (l. Barty in 3s)
• Began grass court season with 2r exit at Berlin (after 1r bye, l. Pegula for the fourth time this season), then fell
1r at Eastbourne (l. Giorgi)
• Reached Rome final for third year in a row,finishing R-Up (l. Swiatek), then fell 2r at Roland Garros (l.
Stephens)
• Advanced to QF at Stuttgart (l. eventual champion Barty in 3s) then fell 2r at Madrid (l. Pavlyuchenkova)
• Was upset by Pegula at three consecutive tournaments in March, first in QF at Doha, thenin 3r at both Dubai
and at Miami
• At Melbourne Park, reached 3r at Australian Open (l. Muchova) and the Yarra Valley Classic in Melbourne (l.
Collins)
• Made 2r in opening tournament of the season,at Abu Dhabi (l. No.292 Gasanova)
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3MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
Career Milestones
• Reached two finals across 2020, at Brisbane (d. Keys) and Rome (l. Halep via ret.). Has won at least one title
every year since 2013
• Lifted a WTA-leading four titles across the 2019 season (tied with Barty) – triumphed at Brisbane, Rome,
Eastbourne and Zhengzhou. Dropped 19 games across five matches during Eastbourne title win (d. Kerber in
F) – most economic title run in 2019
• Also reached first Premier Mandatory final at Miami, losing to Barty in straight sets, and produced best
Australian Open performance of career, reaching SF (l. eventual champion Osaka in 3s); saved four match
points to beat S.Williams in QF
• Lost to twin sister Kr.Pliskova in 2r at Birmingham, in what was their first career maindraw encounter
• Made fourth straight appearance at the WTAFinals in 2019, reaching SF for the third year in arow
• Won two titles in 2018 from three finals contested, triumphing at Stuttgart (d.Vandeweghe in F) and Tokyo
[PPO] (d. Osaka inF). Posted R-Up fi nish in Tianjin (l. Garcia in F)
• Won Billie Jean King Cup for Czech Republic in2015-16 and 2018
• Claimed No.1 ranking on July 17, 2017 despitemaking 2r exit at Wimbledon (l. Rybarikova).Was the fi rst Czech
woman to achieve the No.1ranking since the computer rankings wereintroduced in 1975 (Martina Navratilova
becameNo.1 on July 10, 1978 while representing USA)
• Won three titles in 2017, at Brisbane (d. Cornet in F), Doha (d. Wozniacki in F) and Eastbourne (d. Wozniacki in
F)
• Is a Grand Slam finalist, reaching the title matchat 2016 US Open (l. Kerber)
• Captured fifth WTA doubles title of career at2016 Birmingham (w/Strycova). At 2013 Linz,with sister Kristyna,
became first set of twins toever win a tour-level doubles title
• Made Top 10 debut after 2015 Stanford R-Up finish; was fi rst time in WTA history that threeCzech women
ranked inside Top 10 at the sametime (also Kvitova and Safarova)
• Scored first Top 20 win of her career over No.16 Petrova in 1r at 2013 Wimbledon
• Won fi rst career WTA title at 2013 Kuala Lumpur(d. Mattek-Sands) and followed it up with twomore in 2014
Seoul (d. Lepchenko) and 2014 Linz(d. Giorgi)
• Reached first WTA QF as WC at 2008 Prague (l.Azarenka)
• Made professional debut on ITF Circuit in 2006
Follow WTA on Twitter: www.twitter.com/WTA Facebook: www.facebook.com/WTA YouTube: www.youtube.com/WTA
4MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
CAMILA GIORGI (ITA #71) VS. JESSICA PEGULA (USA #30)
Head-to-head: JESSICA PEGULA leads 3-1
2019 WASHINGTON DC HARD (O) F JESSICA PEGULA 6-2 6-2
2012 ITF/INNISBROOK CLAY (O) R2 JESSICA PEGULA 6-2 7-6(2)
2011 ITF/CARSON HARD (O) QF CAMILA GIORGI 5-7 6-4 6-4
2011 ITF/LUTZ CLAY (O) SF JESSICA PEGULA 6-2 6-3
GIORGI PEGULA
Career Prize Money $4,472,064 Career Prize Money $2,275,943
Plays Right-handed Plays Right-handed
Date of Birth (Age) Dec. 30, 1991 (29) Date of Birth (Age) Feb. 24, 1994 (27)
Singles Titles 2 Singles Titles 1
Tournament W-L (MD) 5-3 Tournament W-L (MD) 4-0
YTD / Career W-L (MD) 19-12 / 168/150 YTD / Career W-L (MD) 28-14 / 60-48
3-Set W-L (YTD / Career) 6-4 / 57-52 3-Set (YTD / Career) 7-8 / 21-19
Tie-Break W-L (YTD / Career) 4-3 / 46-30 Tie-Break (YTD / Career) 3-1 / 18-11
Hard Court W-L (YTD / Career) 11-5 / 106-94 Hard Court (YTD / Career) 18-7 / 54-31
Coach Sergio Giorgi Coach David Witt
GIORGI:
Montréal
• Making fourth main draw appearance at National Bank Open (fifth overall), where she has advanced to SF for
the first time
• Best previous result was 2r showing in 2016 (as qualifier, l. Vinci)
• Has upset Elise Mertens, Nadia Podoroska, Petra Kvitova and Coco Gauff so far this week to reach her second
SF of the season (also Eastbourne, l. Kontaveit via ret. w/left thigh injury)
• Wins over No.12 Kvitova and No.16 Mertens here were her fifth and sixth Top-20 wins of the season (also
No.10 Ka.Pliskova and No.4 Sabalenka at Eastbourne, and No.15 Brady and No.7 Ka.Pliskova at Olympics)
• Faces No.30 Jessica Pegula in SF today; owns 65 wins in career over Top-50 players, with 11 of these coming
in 2021
• Winner of today’s match will be the lowest-ranked finalist at the tournament since No.80 S.Williams won the title
in 2011
• Owns 18-23 career record against players from United States in main draw matches, while is 4-2 this season (d.
McHale at Parma, Rogers at Eastbourne, Brady at Olympics, Gauff at Montréal; l. Kenin at Yarra Valley Classic,
Gauff at Parma)
• Career record in WTA SF matches s 8-7
• Owns one WTA title on hard, at 2018 Linz, while best result outdoors were R-Up finishes at Washington DC and
the Bronx in summer of 2019
• Is bidding to become the first Italian to reach the singles final at this tournament; last to appear in SF was Errani
in 2015 (l. Halep)
• Is currently ranked No.71; by lifting title here can move back inside Top 35 for the first time since May 2019
• In only hard court appearance last summer, fell 2r at US Open
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5MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
Season
• Fell 2r at Lausanne (l. Diyas) and then advanced to QF at Olympics (d. No.7 Ka.Pliskova, l.Svitolina)
• On grass, reached 2r at Birmingham (l. Vekic), SF at Eastbourne (d. No.4 Sabalenka and No.10 Ka.Pliskova, l.
Kontaveit via ret. w/left thigh injury) and 2r at Wimbledon (l. Muchova)
• Reached 2r at Parma (l. eventual champion Gauff ) and Roland Garros (l. Gracheva)
• Suffered 1r defeats at Madrid (l. Samsonova) and Rome (l. Sorribes Tormo - at 3h 51m is the second longest
match on Tour in 2021)
• Fell 1r at Miami (l. Samsonova)
• Advanced to QF at Lyon (l. eventual champion Tauson)
• Opened the season with 2r showings at Yarra Valley Classic (l. Kenin via ret. w/left thigh injury) and Australian
Open (l. Swiatek)
Career Milestones
• During a disrupted 2020, reached SF at Palermo and QF at Lyon, finishing the year at No.76
• In 2019, reached seventh and eighth singles finals of her career, posting R-Up finishes at Washington DC (l.
Pegula) and the Bronx (l.Linette)
• Missed entire 2019 clay court season w/wrist and ankle injuries
• Played Fed Cup in 2019 for fi rst time since 2016 – lost both her matches (l. Golubic, Bencic) as Italy fell to a 3-
1 defeat to Switzerland
• Ended 2018 season perched at a career-best ranking of No.26, winning second career title in final event at Linz
(d. Alexandrova in F). Won 29 Tour-level matches in 2018 – the most wins she had previously posted in a single
season was 28 in 2014
• Advanced to first Grand Slam QF at 2018Wimbledon (l. eventual R-Up S.Williams) on her 26th appearance at
this level; became the first Italian woman to reach the QF of Wimbledon since 2009 (Schiavone, l. Dementieva)
• Other highlights in 2018 included SF runs at Sydney (l. eventual champion Kerber), Prague (l.Buzarnescu after
serving for match in third set) and Tokyo (l. Osaka)
• In 2016 reached final at Katowice for the third year in a row (l. Cibulkova). Appeared in four additional
quarterfinals in 2016, at Hobart (l.Bouchard), Prague (l. Ka.Pliskova), Washington,DC (l. Davis) and Seoul (l.
Zhang)
• Won first career title at 2015 ‘s-Hertogenbosch (d. Bencic in F)
• Had never reached WTA QF prior to 2014;reached QF or better at seven events during that season
• Made Top 100 debut on July 9, 2012 and broke into Top 50 on May 26, 2014
• Tour-level main draw debut came as a qualifier at 2011 Wimbledon
• On ITF Circuit, winner of five singles titles
• Played first career professional tournament at 2006 ITF/Baku-AZE
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6MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
PEGULA:
Montréal
• Making first appearance at National Bank Open – is the last remaining of 17 main draw debutantes in the
starting field
• Has scored three-set wins over Top-50 players Anett Kontaveit, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Danielle Collins
and Ons Jabeur this week to reach her second SF of the season (also Doha, l. Kvitova)
• Nowwons 24 wins in career over Top-50 players, including 16 this season
• Faces Giorgi in today’s SF; beat the Italian in final at 2019 Washington DC to lift sole WTA title
• Career record in WTA SF matches stands at 3-2
• Only US player left in the draw; the last time an American failed to reach last four here was 2012
• In the Open Era, this title has been won by an American woman 20 times (most recently S.Williams in 2013)
• Is currently ranked No.30; this time last year was No.81
• With a win in today’s, she can equal her career-high ranking of No.25 and can break into Top 20 by lifting title
• During last year's North American hard court swing, made 2r at Lexington, QF at Western & Southern Open and
3r at US Open
• Has registered 28 main draw victories so far in2021; had never previously won more than 10 in a single season
Season
• Fell 1r at Olympics (l. eventual gold medal winner Bencic)
• On grass, advanced to QF at Berlin (l. Azarenka), then made 2r at Bad Homburg (l. Siniakova) and Wimbledon
(l. Samsonova)
• Reached 3r at Madrid (l. Sabalenka), then QF at Rome (d. No.2 Osaka in 2r, l. Martic) and 3r at Roland Garros
(l. Kenin)
• Made R16 at Miami (l. Sakkari); recovered from 4-2 down in the third set to beat No.6 Ka.Pliskova in 3r
• Enjoyed strong Middle Eastern swing, reaching her first WTA 500 SF, at Doha (as qualifier, l.eventual champion
Kvitova) – was the first qualifi er to reach last four in the tournament’s history – then made QF at Dubai (l.
Mertens)
• Advanced to maiden Grand Slam QF at Australian Open, where she notched her fourth career Top-20 win over
No.13 Azarenka and career fi rst Top 10 win over No.5 Svitolina before falling to eventual R-Up Brady in three
sets
• Made 3r run at Yarra Valley Classic (l. Kenin)
• Opened season at Abu Dhabi, falling 1r (l.Svitolina)
Career Milestones
• Began 2020 with runner-up finish at Auckland(l. S.Williams), other standout results were a QF at Western &
Southern Open (as qualifier, l.Mertens) and a 3r showing at US Open (l.Kvitova)
• On the doubles court in 2020, reached QFs at Roland Garros (w/Muhammad) and Cincinnati (w/Rogers)
• Won her first WTA title at 2019 Washington DC (d. Giorgi in F) to reach then-career-high ranking of No.55
(August 5, 2019)
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7MATCH NOTES: NATIONAL BANK OPEN
MONTRÉAL, CANADA | AUGUST 9-15, 2021 | $1,835,490 | WTA 1000
• Also in 2019, fell 1r on main draw debut at Roland Garros (l. eventual champion Barty) and Wimbledon (l.
Buzarnescu) and Miami (as aqualifier, l. Konta)
• Broke into Top 100 for the first time on February4, 2019 following back-to-back R-Up finishes at WTA 125K
Series event at Newport Beach and $100K ITF/Midland-MI, USA
• Highlights of 2018 included finishing runner-upas a qualifi er at Québec City (l. Parmentier in F), recording SF
finish at Houston WTA 125K (l.S.Peng) and reaching QF or better at 10 ITF events
• Won doubles title w/Manasse at 2018 Houston 125K (d. Krawczyk/Olmos in F)
• Did not play between January and August 2017after undergoing hip surgery. Primarily played atITF events for
the rest of the year, winning twodoubles titles with Townsend
• Played a mixture of WTA and ITF Circuit eventsin 2016 with highlight coming at Washington DC,where she
defeated No.14 Stosur for first Top-20 win of career on her way to a SF finish (l. Davis)
• Reached 2r on Grand Slam main draw debut at2015 US Open (as qualifier, d. Van Uytvanck, l. Cibulkova)
• Sidelined from tennis for a year and a half between 2013 and 2015 due to a right knee injury
• Made WTA qualifying debut at 2009 Ponte Vedra Beach and WTA main draw debut at 2012 Indian Wells
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