Cincinnati (AFP) – Iga Swiatek reached the final of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open for the first time on Sunday, surging past Elena Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 to book a title clash with Jasmine Paolini. The six-time Grand Slam champion earned a Monday evening final against an opponent with nothing to lose after Paolini managed to “forget” a patch of bad form to claim a 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-3 win over Russian Veronika Kudermetova.
The 29-year-old, who was a two-time Grand Slam finalist in 2024, will bid for the fourth title of her career when she faces Swiatek, who is set to compete in her 13th final at the 1000 level as she closes in on a return to world number two. Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon champion, recovered an early break in the opening set and powered away to beat 2022 All England winner Rybakina, who had swept past world number one and defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
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The former world number one from Poland, now ranked third, had twice stalled at the semi-final stage at the pre-US Open event, but booked her title chance on her third opportunity. “It was a great match, and at the beginning, I was even surprised that I’m able to keep up with the pace, because we played so fast,” Swiatek said. “I wanted to be there when Elena starts making mistakes. It’s impossible to play such a good level throughout the whole match.”
Swiatek recovered from 3-5 down in the opening set, sweeping the last four games. She jumped to a 4-1 lead in the second, sandwiching a pair of love service games around a break of Rybakina’s serve. But Kazakhstan’s Rybakina made her work for it, fending off three break points in the sixth game and saving a pair of match points in the eighth before Swiatek closed it out a game later. “I was playing with intensity and quality,” Swiatek said. “I feel good about my game right now and would not change anything.”
Swiatek has beaten Paolini in all five of their prior meetings, with the Italian winning just one set. However, Swiatek said she was prepared for a tough final against a player who beat world number two Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals. “Anyone who is there will have been playing well,” she said.
Before her 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon final win over Amanda Anisimova last month, Swiatek had been in a trophy drought, with her last prior title coming in June 2024 at Roland Garros. Another victory on Monday would be a strong springboard into the US Open, where first-round play starts on August 24.
Paolini looked headed to a straight-set victory but failed to serve out her match at 5-4 in the second set and admitted the lapse left her nervous. “The key was to forget, get back into the fight and stay in the present,” Paolini said after wrapping up the win in two and a quarter hours. “I was fighting in the second set and all was fine. But I got nervous and thought I would lose the tiebreaker. I came back onto court in the third set trying not to think about what had happened. You have to keep going.”
© 2024 AFP
