Aug 10 (Reuters) – Iga Swiatek swept past Diana Shnaider 6-2 6-1 on Monday to reach the Canadian Open semi-finals, where the Pole will face Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian rallied past Ekaterina Alexandrova in Toronto.
It was a confidence-boosting display ahead of the U.S. Open for former world number one Swiatek, who won one of her six Grand Slam titles in Flushing Meadows in 2022.
Swiatek was in complete control against Shnaider, combining crisp ball striking with strong court coverage to overwhelm her Russian opponent in 68 minutes.
She broke twice in the opening set, capitalising on a string of mistakes from Shnaider, who committed 12 unforced errors in the set.
Swiatek moved 5-2 ahead when Shnaider sent a forehand into the net and secured the set after another error from the Russian.
There was little respite for Shnaider in the second set as seventh seed Swiatek continued to dictate play from the baseline and never faced a break point.
The Pole sealed a second break of the set for a 5-1 lead with a sharply angled crosscourt winner that clipped the line, before wrapping up the contest when Shnaider sent a forehand long on match point.
The win puts Swiatek into her first WTA 1000 semi-final of an inconsistent season in which she has failed to advance beyond the quarters at a Grand Slam and suffered a surprise second-round defeat by compatriot Magda Linette in Miami.
That loss led Swiatek to make a coaching change, replacing Wim Fissette with Francisco Roig.
Swiatek was also beaten in straight sets by Alexandra Eala in the third round at Wimbledon, where she was defending champion.
COMEBACK WIN
Svitolina leapt into the air and pumped her fist in triumph after completing a 3-6 6-0 6-3 comeback win against her Russian opponent to set up a Wednesday meeting with Swiatek, who she beat in the Rome semi-finals in May.
Alexandrova was untouchable in the first set, picking up where she left off after beating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round.
But the veteran Ukrainian stormed back to level the match in the second set and grabbed a 4-1 lead in the third when she pounced on a net cord and hammered home a backhand for another service break.
Svitolina dropped two games while leading 5-1 but regrouped to break serve and set up the meeting with Swiatek.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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