No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus toppled World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-3, 6-3 in the Cincinnati Open semifinals on Sunday in Mason, Ohio.
Sabalenka will play No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula for the title Monday after the American won a rain-delayed semifinal match against Spaniard Paula Badosa, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Sabalenka prevailed in one hour and 47 minutes Sunday to win a semifinal in Cincinnati for the first time in four tries. She also improved to 4-8 all-time against Swiatek.
“Especially when someone leads against you 8-3 you kind of feel like, ‘Okay, I gotta, I gotta keep it interesting,'” Sabalenka said post-match. “I gotta get my win so it’s interesting for people to watch us play. So yeah, of course, I wanted this win badly.”
Sabalenka had a 5-1 edge over Swiatek in aces and saved 4 of 6 break points.
“I wasn’t over-rushing things. I was trusting myself a lot, and I wasn’t trying to over-hit the ball,” Sabalenka said. “I was just trying to stay there, put as much pressure as I can on her, and I was really focused on my serve.”
Swiatek saved 10 of 15 break points overall, including a whopping nine match points after falling behind 5-1 in the second set.
Sabalenka will go for her first WTA 1000 title of the season. She had her chances in Madrid and Rome, but Swiatek defeated her in the final both times.
Pegula trailed Badosa 4-3 in the second set when their match entered a rain delay. Badosa easily pulled away to finish that set when play resumed, but the pivotal moment came when Pegula broke Badosa’s serve in the eighth game of the third set.
“I just needed to not get frustrated,” Pegula said. “She was serving so well there for a while. She hits the ball so hard, and I was just like, ‘I don’t really know what to do’ sometimes. It’s hard to find that balance of trying to go for your shots but also trying to be consistent. …
“I knew it was going to be hard to break her, but luckily I played a couple of good points, and was able to serve it out.”
Badosa hit nine aces but also committed eight double faults. Pegula saved 5 of 8 break points she faced while converting 5 of 11 break-point opportunities.
The red-hot Pegula will try to win her second straight WTA 1000 title after capturing the National Bank Open last week in Toronto. No woman in the Open Era has won the Canada-Cincinnati double.
–Field Level Media
