Boulter knocked out of Canadian Open by Sabalenka

British number one Katie Boulter lost in straight sets against Aryna Sabalenka in the third round of the Canadian Open.

The second seed from Belarus won 6-3 6-3 in one hour 23 minutes but Boulter produced an encouraging performance with the US Open starting in two weeks’ time.

The 28-year-old created four break points against the world number three in Toronto but was unable to convert any.

Boulter, who reached the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games in the women’s doubles, will play her final warm-up tournament before the US Open at next week’s Cincinnati Open.

American top seed Coco Gauff is also out of the Toronto event as she surprisingly lost 6-4 6-1 against Diana Shnaider of Russia.

The defending US Open champion was knocked out in 70 minutes by the world number 66 and acknowledged she struggled physically and mentally.

“Sometimes I question whether I should have played or not,” Gauff said.

“But at the end of the day I wanted to test myself and see how I would do being mentally tired a little bit and physically fatigued.

“I didn’t have high expectations, but I wish I could have competed better, even if it resulted in a loss. I don’t think I competed well.”