World number three Jessica Pegula defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Cincinnati Masters, according to Yahoo Sports.
The match took two hours and 47 minutes and featured seven breaks of serve in a tense first set alone. Swiatek and Pegula took the court 30 minutes late due to rain, and play was briefly interrupted after just two games.
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion from Poland, pushed the match to a third set and took a 3-1 lead before Pegula turned things around. Pegula broke back and then broke again when Swiatek double-faulted on break point to fall behind 5-4. Swiatek had a chance in the first set as well but smacked a volley into the net on set point.
The victory gives Pegula a shot at her third title of 2026. She won a 1000 level event in Dubai earlier this year and also took the trophy in Charleston. Swiatek had been building momentum of her own, having claimed her first title of 2026 in Toronto earlier this month.
Pegula will face either unseeded Czech Sara Bejlek or fourth-ranked Coco Gauff in the Sunday final. Bejlek, who is 20 years old, advanced to the semifinal by knocking out world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round and was seeking another major upset in her Saturday night match against Gauff.
