“You gotta put her under pressure,” Aryna Sabalenka reveals her mentality during Iga Swiatek’s 10 match point saves in the Cincinnati Open semifinal

Aryna Sabalenka will play either Jessica Pegula or Paula Badosa in the CIncinnati Open final on Monday (August 19).

“You gotta put her under pressure,” Aryna Sabalenka reveals her mentality during Iga Swiatek’s 10 match point saves in the Cincinnati Open semifinal

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka (via Tennis.com and Canalplus)

Aryna Sabalenka reached her first Cincinnati Open final by dispatching World No.1 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3. The Belarusian tennis player advanced to her third Masters 1000 final of the season after finishing as the runner-up to the Pole in Madrid and the Italian Open.

Despite Sabalenka’s dominance in the semifinal, Swiatek refused to give in. The top seed saved a total of 10 match points in the seventh and eighth games before eventually losing.

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That was definitely the toughest moment of the match. I kept telling myself, ‘she’s world #1. She’s gonna keep fighting and trying her best. You gotta stay aggressive. You gotta put her under pressure. You’ve gotta play your tennis and just go for it.’ That was kind of my mentality in the tough moments.
Aryna Sabalenka said during her interview with Tennis Channel

Sabalenka had eight match points on Swiatek’s serve in the seventh game. Then, she had another two on her own serve in the eighth game, but the Pole broke back, adding to the frustration of the Australian Open champion.

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However, it was too big of a task to mount a comeback, as Swiatek lost her serve again in the ninth and final game. The World No.1 struggled massively on serve, winning only six of the 30 points on her second serve.

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Aryna Sabalenka reaches first Cincinnati Open final

World No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka defeated top-ranked Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 in the Cincinnati Open semifinals on Sunday. The Belarusian player will now compete against either No. 6 Jessica Pegula or Paula Badosa in the final.

Aryna Sabalenka Cincinnati Open
Aryna Sabalenka at Cincinnati Open (via X)

A win would give Sabalenka her 15th WTA title and her first since winning the Australian Open in January. Before this victory, the 26-year-old had lost her first three semifinal matches in Cincinnati. This was the third time Sabalenka and Swiatek faced off this season, but it was their first meeting on hard courts. The third seed kept her rallies short, relying on strong serving and quick returns. Although the top seed leads the tour in both service and return games, she struggled against Sabalenka.

The Australian Open champion’s serving accuracy was at 52 percent, yet she won 67 percent of her first serves and 53 percent of her second serves. On the other hand, Swiatek could only win 20 percent of her second-serve points, claiming just six out of 30.

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