Swiatek holds off Svitolina; Rybakina beats Gauff to reach Toronto final
Toronto, Aug 13 (IANS) Iga Swiatek overcame Elina Svitolina at the Canadian Open to reach her first final on the WTA Tour in nearly a year with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 semifinal win.
Facing a third set against the Ukrainian for a third time in three 2026 meetings, Swiatek found completed her first win against Svitolina in three meeting, as well as advance to her 14th career WTA 1000 final.
Taking to the court an hour after their originally scheduled start time due to rain, Swiatek saved a couple of break points in the opening game before seizing control. She won the first four games to start the match and broke in Svitolina’s first three service games.
The Ukrainian did not manage a hold until she was down 5-2 and only managed to recover one of the breaks. However, she upped the aggression in the second set and it paid dividends.
Svitolina refused to rally with the Pole, taking big cuts on every ball in sight. She was rewarded with two breaks on her way to a 5-0 lead. The Ukrainian nearly managed a bagel with three set points on Swiatek’s serve, but had to settle for a breadstick.
Svitolina stayed on the front foot early in the third set, applying pressure in Swiatek’s early service games. She missed a couple of chances to break in the opening game but managed to convert in the fifth game to go up 3-2.
But just when it seemed like the match was on the Ukrainian’s racquet, her level dropped. She would not win another game as Swiatek took advantage of the lull, breaking right back to kick off a run of four straight games, including a break to love to go up 5-3, to book her spot in the final.
Meanwhile, second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan soared into the finals after defeating fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a final with Swiatek.
Having not played since Sunday, Gauff showed some rust in the opening game when she fell behind love-40. That shocked her into life though as she rallied to hold and defended her serve well the rest of the set. In the late stages, she started to get into Rybakina’s service games.
The American missed a set point on the Kazakhstani’s serve at 5-4, 30-40 but got the job done two games later, breaking to wrap up the opener. Gauff started to get into trouble though early in the second. After battling through a tough hold in her second service game, everything fell apart in her third as she was broken to go down 2-3.
Suddenly, nothing was working for Gauff as she struggled to keep the ball in play, both from her serve and in the rallies. Rybakina added a break to love late before serving the match into a decider. While the American managed to slow the bleeding with a couple of holds to start, she was still under constant pressure and cracked again in her third game.
The set quickly turned into a mirror image of set two, with Rybakina running away with it once she broke. The Kazakhstani won the last five games in a row, breaking a second time for 5-2 and then closing out the win with a hold from 15-40 down.
–IANS
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