Jessica Pegula overcame defending champion Iga Swiatek in a thrilling three-set battle to reach the Cincinnati Open women's singles final, setting up an all-American showdown with Coco Gauff
NEW DELHI — Jessica Pegula overcame defending champion Iga Swiatek in a thrilling three-set battle to reach the Cincinnati Open women's singles final, setting up an all-American showdown with Coco Gauff, while Frances Tiafoe and France's Arthur Fils advanced to the men's final
Pegula, ranked world No. 3, won against the seventh-seeded Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 and reached another WTA 1000 final in two hours and 47 minutes.
In the first set both players obtained early break points before play was briefly halted due to rain at 1-1. Pegula then broke serve to take a 3-2 lead and got ahead 4-2. Swiatek managed to make a comeback and level the score at 4-4 before gaining the lead themselves, but Pegula broke again at 5-5 and then ended the set after the Polish player missed a return and hit an overhead that went into the net.
In the second set Swiatek raised her level by breaking serve in the sixth game to lead 4-2. Pegula then managed to get back into the set, but the six-time Grand Slam champion forced a decider since the American missed a forehand return.
Swiatek then took a 3-1 lead in the final set, but Pegula would not give in. The 32-year-old player levelled the score at 4-4 before making the winning break in the following game and then served to win the match.
"The match was very difficult. Swiatek is in excellent form. It's fantastic to have beaten such a great athlete as Iga in the semi-finals and to have reached another 1000 final," Pegula said.
She will have to play the other American, Gauff, who beat Sara Bejlek from the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-1 in 76 minutes.
Gauff took a 4-1 lead in the first set after breaking Bejlek's serve, but Bejlek managed to recover and the score became 4-4. The 22-year-old American then broke serve once more and went on to win the set.
Also read: Coco Gauff, Bejlek set semifinal match-up in Cincinnati
In her first WTA 1000 semifinal, Gauff dominated the second set by breaking Bejlek twice and using the unforced errors made by Bejlek to secure her spot in the final.
In the men's draw, Fils kept up his impressive form by beating the seventh seed Flavio Cobolli 6–3, 6–4 in 67 minutes, thus securing his fifth win in a row.
Cobolli took the lead 2-1, but Fils immediately replied by breaking serve in the eighth game as the Italian had difficulty when playing from the baseline. The 22-year-old Frenchman then broke serve in the first game of the second set and took control of the match with his powerful forehand, ending the set with 22 winners and six aces.
The champion of the Barcelona Open will play against Tiafoe from the United States, who won their match against their countryman Brandon Nakashima with a score of 7-5, 6-3.
In the first set the Americans had four consecutive break points, after which Tiafoe held serve to take a 4-3 lead; he then broke again to make it 6-5 and served to win the set.
Tiafoe then gave himself a 3-2 lead in the second set against Nakashima and secured the win by holding serve at love, thus earning a spot in the final of the Cincinnati Open.