Aryna Sabalenka convincingly beat world No 1 Iga Swiatek to advance to her first Cincinnati Open final.
Sabalenka, who is set to move up to second in the rankings after the tournament, secured her fourth career win – and first this season – over Swiatek in 12 meetings thanks to a blistering, aggressive approach.
Sabalenka broke the Swiatek serve five times in total as she won 6-3 6-3, though she did briefly threaten to let her opponent back into the contest when spurning nine match points before finally converting the 10th.
Up 5-1 in the second set, Sabalenka raced into a 0-40 advantage on the Swiatek serve for three of those match points, with a further four following in an epic game that went to deuce six times.
Sabalenka was then broken when serving for the match, having spurned two more match points, as Swaitek suddenly threatened a stunning comeback. But, eking out yet another opportunity on the Pole’s serve in her subsequent service game, Sabalenka finally closed things out.
“That was definitely a tough moment of the match,” Sabalenka told Sky Sports. “I kept telling myself she is world No 1 and is going to fight till the very last point.
“I just tried to remind myself to stay aggressive, keep pushing her and hopefully get this win.
The Belarusian will now compete in her ninth WTA 1000 final on Monday, searching for a fifth win, as she goes up against either US sixth seed Jessica Pegula or Spain’s Paula Badosa, who battle it out on Sunday evening for the other final spot.
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