Swiatek races past Shnaider into Toronto semi-finals

Iga Swiatek, a former world number one, advanced swiftly to the Toronto Masters semi-finals on Monday. She dispatched Russian Diana Shnaider in just 64 minutes, defeating her 6-2, 6-1. This Polish six-time Grand Slam champion will now face either Ukraine's Elina Svitolina or Russia's seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final on Wednesday.

At 25 years old, Swiatek has not reached a final since clinching her 26th WTA tour title at the Korea Open in Seoul over a year ago. Consequently, her ranking has dropped to world number eight.

Swiatek displayed remarkable proficiency on her first serve, only losing three points. She also handled Shnaider's second serves effectively, securing 11 out of 16 points. Shnaider, a left-hander, inadvertently aided Swiatek's cause by missing a break point in the opening game when she hit a backhand over the baseline. Swiatek capitalized on this mistake, taking a 5-2 lead and breaking Shnaider again when the latter netted a backhand.

She further extended her advantage by serving out to win the first set in 31 minutes. In the second set, Swiatek broke Shnaider once when the latter mishit a forehand, and again when Shnaider backhanded into the net. In the final game, she secured two break points as Shnaider failed to hold a forehand.