Aryna Sabalenka secured a significant victory over Iga Swiatek on Sunday, winning 6-3, 6-3 to advance to her first Cincinnati Open final. The win marked Sabalenka’s first straight-sets victory over Swiatek, following two previous losses in the finals of the Madrid Open and the Italian Open earlier this year.
Reflecting on the achievement, Sabalenka, who is set to become the world number two on Monday, expressed her satisfaction. “It sounds like I broke the wall finally,” she remarked when asked about her feelings on reaching the final. “I’m super happy. After such a tough battle against Iga, I’m super happy with the win.”
Sabalenka will face Jessica Pegula in Monday’s final. Pegula, who recently claimed the Canadian Open title, defeated Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the other semi-final. Victory over Sabalenka would earn Pegula a rare Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open double, following her triumph in Montreal last week.
Sabalenka in Cincinnati, ranking, and results in 2024
WWWWWWWWLW Ranked no.3, Sabalenka has managed to achieve an overall 38-11 record in 2024. Aryna is playing in Cincinnati where she bested Unknown Player bye, the world no.66 Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 6-4, the world no.30 Elina Svitolina 7-5 6-2, the world no.17 Liudmila Samsonova 6-3 6-2 and the world no.1 Iga Swiatek 6-3 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka will square off with the world no.263 Petra Kvitova in the final on Saturday at 6:00 pm on CENTRE COURT. Their current record is 3-2 for Kvitova.
Sabalenka clinched 1 title in 2024 at the Australian Open. The Belarussian got to the final in Brisbane (Brisbane International), in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) and in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia).
Aryna won 14 titles in her career: 10 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Iga Swiatek in 2024
WWWLWWWWLW Ranked no.1, the Pole played her last match on the 18th of August when she surrendered to world no.3 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal in Cincinnati (draw).
Until now, during this year Swiatek has a compiled 55-7 record. Swiatek has won 6 titles in 2024 in Australia, Doha, Indian Wells, Madrid, Rome and French Open.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek clashed against each other 12 times. The head to head is 8-4 for Swiatek. The last time they locked horns, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-3 6-3 in the semifinal in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 18th of August 2024.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek |
| Embed from Getty Images |
