Elena Rybakina stunned defending champion Aryna Sabalenka at the Cincinnati Open to set up a semi-final meeting with Iga Swiatek.
Playing in her first tournament since losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals in July, the world No 1 was beaten 6-1 6-4 by Rybakina in little more than an hour on Friday.
The Kazakh will face Wimbledon champion Swiatek in the semi-finals on Sunday after the third seed eased to a 6-3 6-4 win over Anna Kalinskaya earlier on Friday.
Rybakina continued to produce the strong form that saw her reach the semi-finals in Montreal last week before she was beaten by shock winner Victoria Mboko.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion struck 11 aces as she avoided being broken on serve, with Sabalenka failing to take any of her five break points – one of which came in the first game of the match.
After breaking twice to ease to the first set, Rybakina broke early in the second set for a 2-1 lead, before seeing off two break points in her penultimate service game to stay ahead.
She ultimately finished the job with ease, holding to love to see out a win that ensures she’ll move up at least one place from her current position of No 10 in the world rankings.
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Highlights of Iga Swiatek against Anna Kalinskaya from the Cincinnati Open.
Poland’s Swiatek secured a decisive break to move 3-1 ahead in the first set against 28th seed Kalinskaya, before saving a break point herself as she closed out the opener.
The pair exchanged breaks early in the second set, before Swiatek struck again to go 4-3 in front. Kalinskaya showed resilience to survive four match points in a remarkable penultimate game of the match, but Swiatek kept her composure to take the next opportunity moments later.
A win for Swiatek on Sunday would put the former world No 1 through to her first WTA 1000 final in 15 months and seal her place at the season-ending WTA Finals for a fifth straight year.
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