Jessica Pegula of the United States upset world No 1 Iga Swiatek to reach the final of the WTA Montreal Open on Saturday.
Fourth-seed Pegula took advantage of an error-strewn performance by Poland's Swiatek to complete a 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4 victory in 2hr 30min.
American hopeful Pegula will face either third seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan or 15th-seed Liudmila Samsonova in Sunday's final.
"It feels great," Pegula said after her win. "No better way to earn it, right? It was tough match. I felt like I was in control.
"But as the world No 1 does and a champion, she played some really great tennis at the end of the second set and in the third. So, she made me earn it."
PEGULA PREVAILS ??@JPegula takes down Swiatek in three sets 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 advancing to the finals for the first time in Montreal. #NBO23 pic.twitter.com/no3bGLU6nv
— wta (@WTA) August 12, 2023
Reigning French and US Open champion Swiatek, meanwhile, was left reflecting on a scratchy display that saw her suffer no fewer than 11 breaks of serve.
A jittery first set opened with five straight breaks of serve before Pegula finally managed to hold to take a 4-2 lead.
Swiatek continued to struggle with her serve in the next game, and Pegula was soon 0-40 up.
Although Swiatek fought back to level at deuce, she was soon in trouble again, yanking a forehand wide at break-point down to give Pegula a 5-2 lead. Pegula then served out for the set, taking a 1-0 lead with an emphatic ace down the middle.
Pegula threatened to wrap up victory quickly in the second set, serving for the match at 5-4 only to drop serve before Swiatek went on to force the tiebreak.
Pegula had Swiatek under pressure in the breaker, taking a 4-2 lead, before the world No 1 rattled off five straight points to level the match and force a decider.
It seemed as if Swiatek had weathered the storm in the final set, breaking Pegula twice early on to take a 4-2 lead.
But once again Swiatek's service game unraveled, Pegula holding for 4-3 before breaking to make it 4-4.
A confident service game left Pegula 5-4 ahead, and the American then grabbed a match point when Swiatek hit a forehand long in the next game. Another wide forehand from Swiatek sealed Pegula's win.