Canadian Open: Svitolina, Swiatek see off Alexandrova, Shnaider to set up SF clash
Toronto, Aug 11 (IANS) Elina Svitolina’s resilience once again came to the fore as the ninth seed overturned a slow start against Ekaterina Alexandrova to book a place in the Canadian Open semifinals, where she will face Iga Swiatek in a clash between two of the tournament’s biggest forces.
Svitolina, the 2017 champion, was initially unsettled by Alexandrova’s aggressive baseline approach. The 16th seed, fresh from her shock victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, struck cleanly to take the opening set 6-3.
But the momentum changed dramatically after the first-set setback. Svitolina reeled off 11 of the next 12 games, sweeping the second set 6-0 and moving 5-1 ahead in the decider. Alexandrova threatened a late revival by narrowing the deficit to 5-3, but Svitolina held her nerve, breaking in the ninth game to complete a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 victory in 93 minutes.
“I think she was playing really well, serving really unreturnable to be fair. So I had to really try to find opportunities to see the ball better and I think focusing on myself more. And she gave me a little bit more second serves that really, I think, changed the momentum. And I found my game was playing really well from the baseline after,” Svitolina told the media after the win.
The win extended Svitolina’s unbeaten run in WTA 1000 matches to 10, following six victories in Rome and four in Toronto. It also marked her fourth WTA 1000 semifinal of the season, the most by any player in 2026.
Waiting for her will be Swiatek, who produced one of her most commanding performances of the tournament to dispatch Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 in just 64 minutes.
“I’ve been feeling good on the court. I know how much I practised and what we did [during] the practices. This is giving me confidence. It’s just a matter of being in a good place that day and using it. So I’m trying to do my best every day, keep my routines, be really focused, and for sure, I’m really happy to be in a semifinal,” Swiatek said in her on-court interview.
The Pole has now reached her 23rd WTA 1000 semifinal, joining an elite group of players with multiple deep runs at the level. Swiatek leads their career rivalry 4-3, but Svitolina has won both meetings this season, prevailing in three sets at Indian Wells and Rome.
“We played many times, practised many times as well, so we know each other’s game. And we had a great match, I think from my side it was a great match, in Rome. For me it will be important to stay physical. It’s going to be lots of long rallies. And I will just work on a few things, some tactical things tomorrow. It’s nice to have a day where I can work on a few things for the semi-final,” Svitolina added.
–IANS
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