Third-seeded Iga Swiatek advanced to the Cincinnati Open final for the first time in her career by dispatching Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday in Mason, Ohio.
Swiatek had seven aces and won 81.6 percent of her first-serve points in the semifinal match.
Swiatek of Poland will face No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini of Italy in Monday night’s title match. Paolini defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 in the other semifinal.
The ninth-seeded Rybakina of Kazakhstan had 10 aces and converted 6 of 9 break points.
Rybakina led 5-3 in the opening set but couldn’t put it away. Swiatek responded by winning four straight games to take the set and 10 of 13 to win the match.
“It was a tough match,” Swiatek said. “At the beginning, it was pretty crazy. We played so fast that sometimes we couldn’t run to the second ball.”
Swiatek will be seeking her second title in her last three matches. She won Wimbledon when she swept Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the final and then lost to Clara Tauson of Denmark in the fourth round in Toronto.
Swiatek will be a heavy favorite in the title match. She is 5-0 all-time against Paolini.
“Anyone who is going to be in the final will be super tough,” Swiatek said shortly before the start of the Paolini-Kudermetova semifinal. “I will just focus on myself and try to continue the work that I’ve been doing. I feel I have progressed at this tournament.”
Paolini saved 5 of 6 break points while knocking off Kudermetova. She will be seeking her second title of the season. She beat Coco Gauff in the Rome final in May.
Kudermetova registered 10 aces but committed four double faults and a whopping 75 unforced errors. She had a 31-15 edge in winners. Paolini had 35 unforced errors.
Paolini was one game away from winning in straight sets before Kudermetova made a charge and won three straight games. Paolini won the next game to force a tiebreaker before Kudermetova dominated it to force a third set.
“She’s playing really well, big serve and hitting shots,” Paolini said of Kudermetova. “I was fighting in the second. … I did my best in the second set and it didn’t work but you have to keep going.”
Paolini won three straight games in the third set to take a 5-2 lead before finishing off the Russian.
Now she will attempt to get that elusive first victory over Swiatek.
“It’s been really tough against her,” Paolini said of Swiatek. “She’s an amazing player, it’s tough always to play her. I’m trying to do my best. I’m in the final, I like the conditions here so let’s fight and hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”
–Field Level Media
