Iga Swiatek has reached the final of the Cincinnati Open after beating Elena Rybakina in straight sets. The world number three will now face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in the final.
This will be a repeat of last year’s French Open final, which Swiatek won comfortably.
Swiatek, who is also the current Wimbledon champion, defeated Rybakina from Kazakhstan 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to reach her first Cincinnati final.
Rybakina, who had knocked out world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals, made a strong start but couldn’t take advantage of an early break. Swiatek then took control of the match.
“That was a tough match,” Swiatek said. “At the beginning it was a bit wild, we were playing so fast we couldn’t always reach the second ball. I tried to play with high intensity and good quality, and I’m really happy with how I played. The final will be very tough. I’ll need to plan carefully, but I’ll mostly focus on my own game and keep doing what I’ve been working on.”
Jasmine Paolini reached the final by beating Russian player Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3 in her semi-final. Paolini had a chance to finish the match in the second set but lost her lead. Kudermetova made 75 unforced errors, which proved costly.
The final will be played on Monday night.
