Reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek rallied from 3-5 down to beat Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-3 in the first semifinal of the Cincinnati Open to set a final against Jasmine Paolini, who overcame Veronika Kudemertova 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-3.
Rybakina earned a break in the seventh game to open up a 5-3 lead. Swiatek won four consecutive games with back-to-back breaks to seal the first set 7-5. The Polish earned the first break of the second set in the fourth game and held on her serve for the rest of the match to close out the second set 6-3.
“Oh my God, for sure that was a tough match. At the beginning, the level was pretty crazy; sometimes, we couldn’t even run to the second ball … but I was there to play with intensity, good quality, and I’m happy with the performance,” said Swiatek.
Paolini earned the first break in the eighth game before serving out for the first set in the next game. The Italian player broke serve in the fifth game to open up 5-3 lead. Kudemertova converted her third break point in the 10th game to draw level to draw level to 5-5. Kudemertova opened up a 6-3 lead in the tie-break and sealed the tie-break 7-2 on her first se point to force the match to the third set.
Paolini earned the first break in the sixth game of the third set 6-3 before serving out the match in the ninth game.
Swiatek leads 4-0 in her head-to-head matches against Paolini. The Polish player beat her Italian player 6-1 6-3 in Bad Homburg semifinal and in the final of 2024 Roland Garros.
“It’s been really tough against her. She’s an amazing player and it’s always tough to play her. She defends really well, and her serving is good too, so it’s going to be tough, but I’ll try to do my best in the final. I like the conditions here, so that’s fine, and hopefully it’s going to be a good match”, said Paolini.
