Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka reached the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 tennis tournament for the first time in her career, defeating world number one Iga Szwiłtek of Poland 6-3. 6-3.
The victory is an achievement for Sabalenka, who lost the finals of the Madrid and Rome tournaments to Światnik in the previous months.
Sabalenka, who has reached the semi-finals of this tournament 4 times before, will advance to second place in the world rankings a week before the start of the US Open, the fourth major tournament.
Sabalenka will play in the final on Monday with American Jessica Pegula VI, who won against Paula Badosa from Spain 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Sabalenka’s victory did not come without a fight, as she had to make up for losing nine match points while leading 5-1 in the second set.
Sabalenka lost her serve and the Polish woman reduced the score to 3-5, but she was able, after a long wait, to settle the result by breaking Szwiatnik’s serve in a match that lasted almost two hours.
“I broke the last barrier,” said Sabalenka when he reached the final “It was a very difficult battle with Iga, and we had to be patient because of the weather.”
The match witnessed rain showers, which halted the game several times.
Sabalenka continued, “In the match points, I had to tell myself that this is why she is ranked number one in the world and I will fight until the last point. I just had to keep doing my job and try to win.”
In the second match, Pegula won the first set after breaking her opponent’s serve 3 times, but the Spanish woman returned the favor in the second set to tie the scores.
Pegula, who recently won the Toronto tournament, managed to control the course of the third set to win the match.
Cincinnati is considered one of the preparatory courses for the Flushing Meadows Championship, which starts on the 26th of this month.
2024-08-19 05:19:17
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