Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – Former world number one Iga Swiatek cruised into the Toronto Masters semi-finals on Monday to set up a clash with Elina Svitolina, who fought back from a set down to reach the last four. Poland’s Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, took just 64 minutes to sweep past Russia’s Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1. Ukraine’s Svitolina, the ninth seed, beat Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Swiatek reached just her second WTA semi-final this year after Rome and is seeking her first final appearance since winning the Korea Open almost a year ago in Seoul. “From the beginning I went for it. I felt like I could dominate,” Swiatek said after dropping just three points on her first serve. “I was quite happy with the way I played. It was a tricky match with the wind. I thought I needed to adjust to that. I just wanted to be more solid,” added the 25-year-old world number eight.
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Svitolina won eight consecutive games after losing the first set on the way to dispatching Alexandrova in 93 minutes. Swiatek leads Svitolina 4-3 in their WTA career rivalry, but lost both their meetings this year. “I’m gonna talk with my team to adjust a little bit for Iga’s game,” said Svitolina. “Of course she’s a great champion. She plays really well this tournament. I have to bring my best.”
Swiatek established a 5-2 lead in the first set when she broke Shnaider a second time, courtesy of the Russian netting a backhand, and served out to take it in 31 minutes. The Pole broke for a 2-1 lead in the second when Shnaider netted. A forehand winner gave Swiatek a 4-1 lead and a third break sealed victory.
Svitolina had more of a battle after sending a backhand long on serve to drop an evenly matched first set. It fired up the Ukrainian, who reeled off four breaks to blank Alexandrova in the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the third. Svitolina served for the match in the eighth game of the final set, only for a double fault to allow Alexandrova a lifeline. But a pumped-up Svitolina roared back, broke to love, and finished the match with a searing return winner. “Very pleased with my performance. With the fighting spirit,” said Svitolina. “She was playing really well in the first set. I had to really step into like a fighting mode.”
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