Iga Swiatek first time Cincy Open Finalist!

 

When Elena Rybakina started so fabulously fast in their Sunday semifinal, winning five of the first eight games, doubt seeped into Iga Swiatek’s mind.

Not for long, though.

“At the beginning, I was even surprised that I’m able to keep up with the pace, because we played so fast,” Swiatek told reporters later. “I mean, I just wanted to be there when Elena starts making mistakes -- because I think it’s impossible to play such a good level throughout the whole match.

“Honestly, we played with such a high intensity, I was just going for it. I knew I couldn’t take the foot off the gas.”

Looking like the six-time Grand Slam champion she is, Swiatek rallied famously, winning eight of the next nine games to defeat the No. 9-seeded Rybakina 7-5, 6-3 and advance to Monday’s final at the Cincinnati Open (6 p.m., ET).

She’ll play No. 7 Jasmine Paolini, who was a 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3 winner over Veronika Kudermetova.

Swiatek has won all five previous matches against Paolini -- the most recent was 6-1, 6-3 on the grass at Bad Homburg.

Serving with powerful yet clinical precision, Elena Rybakina jumped out to a 5-3 lead over Swiatek in their semifinal match. And when Swiatek fell into a 15-30 hole, it looked like the set might elude her grasp.

And then, Swiatek did Swiatek things, winning eight of the next nine games.

How did she do it? Swiatek moved her return position back to deal with Rybakina’s big outside serves in both the ad and deuce courts. Her defense and superior movement extended rallies and Rybakina just couldn’t hang. At the same time, her amped-up serve paid dividends on Cincinnati’s medium-fast hard courts.

That’s the kind of problem solving that wins matches -- and why she’s a strong favorite to win this final. This is her third final of the last four tournaments she’s played.

With the win over Rybakina, Swiatek secured her place at the WTA Finals in Riyadh and climbed back to No. 2 in the PIF WTA Rankings, placing her at the bottom of the US Open draw next week.

History suggests Paolini will have her hands full. Swiatek has won 10 of the 11 sets they’ve played -- her forehand has simply been too much for Paolini to absorb.

Swiatek has a vast edge in experience as well. This is her 13th WTA 1000 final in only her 39th appearance. That means she’s batting a robust .333. Only Maria Sharapova (25) and Serena Williams (27) have reached 13 finals in 1000s in fewer appearances since the format introduction in 2009.

This is only Paolini’s third WTA 1000 final.

It’s worth noting that Swiatek has now won 50 matches against Top-10 players -- in 73 tries. Paolini, we should reiterate, is a Top 10 player.

The way Swiatek’s been slicing through the field, it’s hard to imagine her losing. She has yet to lose a set and has dropped only 27 games in the four matches she’s won on court -- there was also a walkover against Marta Kostyuk.

wtatennis.com

Well I've been wanting to see Iga raise her level on serve and in general at this tournament and boy, did she do that today!.

The first 3 games of the first set were a masterclass in serving. 

The doubts creeped in when she had one bad service game to get broken I thought for sure Rybakina would serve it out and Iga would have to find a way to win it in 3. 

But Iga was just on another level today (as she so often is when she's in a groove).  She has been trying to find that groove all tournament and finally found it today. 

Instead of getting frustrated about getting broken and overhitting she just knuckled down and broke back the minute Rybakina's first serve started missing.

She knew it was her chance and took that first set back from a break down.  

In the 2nd set she really used her athleticism and speed to make Rybakina move and have to hit really good shots. 

But I'd say the most impressive was when she wasn't able to take the 3 breakpoints in set 2 and 2 match  points on Rybakina's serve. 

The old Iga would have gotten really upset and panicked, but Wimbledon Champion Iga kept her calm and just worked each point (didn't even panic at love 30 down serving for it). 

Outstanding mental resolve. 

This is her 4th win of the year over Rybakina (she now has a positive 6-4 H2H). 

I love the way she kept adjusting her position when returning actually stepping back and forward when needed (something she started doing at Wims suggestion) and it has paid real dividends against a big server and big hitter like Rybakina.

It's the best she has played on a hard court since Australian Open in January. 

She reached this final without losing a set something she's never done in Cincy.

A mighty impressive display. 

Iga has now made the final in her worst tournaments/surfaces in the same year (the grass of Wimbledon and fast courts of Cincy). Those are some staggering improvements. 

This is Iga's 29th WTA final. Astounding.  

And if she wins tomorrow she'll be back to world #2. 

Right before the U.S. Open. 

Also with today's win she also officially qualified for the WTA Finals in Riyadh. 2025 is looking up.

Her next opponent is Jasmine Paolini who she has a perfect record against, I never underestimate an opponent but if Iga is a fraction as focused and intense, as in this match, she's taking the title. 

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek in WTA 1000 matches where she won the first set 104-0 (100%)

13 - Iga Swiatek (13) has equalled Aryna Sabalenka and Petra Kvitova (13 each) for the fifth most finals in WTA-1000 since the format introduction in 2009. Climbing.

13 - Since 1990, Iga Swiatek is the third youngest player to reach 13 Tier 1/WTA-1000 finals, older only than Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova. Stunning.