[1/2]August 12, 2023; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Jessica Pegula (USA) returns the ball against Iga Svidek (POL) during the semifinal match at IGA Stadium (not pictured). Mandatory credit: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 12 (Reuters) – Jessica Pegula defeated world number one Ika Svitek 6-2 6-7(4) 6-4 to reach the Canadian Open final in Montreal on Saturday after rain delayed the start of the other semi-final. Elena Rybakina and Lyudmila Samsonova until Sunday.
Rybakina and Samsonova are now scheduled to begin their match at 1:30pm ET (1730 GMT) on Sunday, giving the winner some downtime before the final, which will start „after appropriate rest” and no earlier than 5:30pm.
Pegula, the American world number three, was playing in her third consecutive Canadian Open semifinal, breaking Svidek’s serve 11 times and handling the big moments of the match better than the four-time Grand Slam winner.
„She always makes it tough, but of course it’s incredibly rewarding to beat the number one in the world, which I’m sure will give me a lot of confidence tomorrow and the next couple of weeks,” Pegula defended her place. First Canadian Open final.
Neither player could hold their serve until Pegula took a 4-2 lead, and the American went to a double break before producing a pair of aces in his next service game to wrap up the first set.
Svidek opened the second set with his first service hold to take a 3-1 lead and followed with a pair of breaks.
However, Pegula fought back and opened up a 5-4 lead after breaking Svidek in the eighth, but the Pole was unable to deliver the match as the Pole leveled the frame before forcing a decider.
Sviatek won the first eight points of the third set to take a 2-0 lead, but Pegula kept his cool and came back from two downs to claim the biggest win of his career.
Rybakina beat Daria Kasatkina just before 3 a.m. Saturday to reach the semifinals in a match that lasted nearly three and a half hours.
Samsonova booked her place in the final four with a win over Belinda Bencic during Friday night’s session.
Samsonova has won her two previous meetings with Rybakina, including a first-round clash in Montreal two years ago.
Reported by Frank Bingu in Toronto; Editing by Pritha Sarkar and William Mallard
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