Swiatek sinks Svitolina to set up Rybakina title clash in Toronto

Iga Swiatek defeated Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a hard court match at Toronto to advance to the final against world No. 2 Elena Rybakina. Australian Open champion Rybakina had earlier beaten fourth-seeded Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in their quarter-final clash. Swiatek, seeded seventh, is making her year's debut in a Grand Slam title final after last winning a trophy in Seoul almost a year ago.

She has now improved her head-to-head record against Svitolina to 5-3. Svitolina, a former world No. 1, had narrowly lost to Swiatek in their previous meeting. Swiatek led 4-0 in the opening set before Svitolina fought back to win the set. In the third set, Swiatek broke Svitolina to love, capitalizing on her opponent's errors to secure the match.

Rybakina, who had earlier routed Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals, is on the verge of his third title of the season, following his wins in Melbourne and Stuttgart. His Canadian run has him closing in on No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the rankings as the August 31 start of the US Open approaches.