Cincinnati Open | Swiatek Downs Rybakina, is confronted with Paolini in the final of women

A ruthless Iga Swiatek won 10 of the last 13 games to beat Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-3 on Sunday and to reach her first Cincinnati Open final after loss in the penultimate phase of the US Open Tune-Up event in each of the last two years.

In the other semi-final, the Italian Jasmine Paolini was a 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-3 winner about non-SEEDED Russian Veronika Kudermetova.

Third seed Swiatek had her hands full in the early stages of the 98 -minute competition, but took advantage of a sudden dip in the form of Rybakina to win four consecutive games and close the first set before he closed the second one.

“That was a tough game. In the beginning the level was pretty strange, we played so fast that sometimes we couldn’t even run to the second ball because we played so quickly,” Swiatek said during her interview on the field.

“But I was there to play with intensity and good quality and I am super happy with the performance. I have served much better, so it certainly helped and I would not change anything.”

Ninth Seed Rybakina used a Cross-Court Forehand that caught the line for a break and then held for a 5-3 lead in the first set, but a laser-oriented Swiatek came back from the abyss and attacked the Serve of the Kazakhs to draw level at 5-5.

From there, the Wimbledon champion served Serve before she completed the opener when she broke for the second time after an attempt by Rybakina Backhand came short.

Rybakina, who enjoyed a quick victory on world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, was broken early in the second set for a third time after a Backhand-Fout Swiatek had placed for 3-1.

Swiatek faced some push-back from Rybakina three games later, but dug deep to recover from 15-40 to protect her serve and reach 5-2 before she served it on serving when Rybakina sent a forehand back.

Six times Grand Slam Champion Swiatek, who has not lost a set in Cincinnati, will enter the final looking for improving her right-to-head record against Paolini to 6-0 in their first game since the Bad Homburg Open Semi-Final in June.

Paolini made a strong start, but the Russian Kudermetova stormed back from 5-3 in the second to force a decision-maker in which the Italian seventh seed started to close it with a love mud.

“I told myself after losing the tiebreak that I have to take a step back on the field, be in the present and not think about what happened,” said Paolini. “I did my best and it didn’t work in the second set, but you have to continue.

“And that was the key, to forget and to go back and to fight and stay in the present.” (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Edit by Ken Ferris)