Swiatek stops Shnaider, sets Svitolina showdown
Former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek cruised into the Toronto Masters semifinals on Monday to set up a clash with Elina Svitolina who fought back from a set down to reach the last four.
Poland’s Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, took just 64 minutes to sweep past Russia’s Diana Shnaider, 6-2, 6-1.
Ukraine’s Svitolina, the ninth seed, beat Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Swiatek reached just her second WTA semifinal this year, following Rome, and is seeking her first final appearance since winning the Korea Open in Seoul almost a year ago.
“From the beginning I went for it. I felt like I could dominate,” Swiatek said after dropping just three points on her first serve. “I was quite happy with the way I played. It was a tricky match with the wind.”
“I thought I needed to adjust to that. I just wanted to be more solid,” added the 25-year-old world No. 8.
Svitolina won eight consecutive games after losing the first set, dispatching Alexandrova in 93 minutes.
Swiatek leads Svitolina 4-3 in their WTA career rivalry, but lost both their meetings this year.
“I’m gonna talk with my team to adjust a little bit for Iga’s game,” said Svitolina. “Of course she’s a great champion. She plays really well this tournament. I have to bring my best.”
Swiatek established a 5-2 lead in the first set when she broke Shnaider a second time, courtesy of the Russian netting a backhand, and served out to take it in 31 minutes.
The Pole broke for a 2-1 lead in the second when Shnaider netted. A forehand winner gave Swiatek a 4-1 lead and a third break sealed victory.
Svitolina had more of a battle after sending a backhand long on serve to drop an evenly matched first set.
It fired up the Ukrainian, who reeled off four breaks to blank Alexandrova in the second set and take a 2-0 lead in the third.
Svitolina served for the match in the eighth game of the final set only for a double fault to allow Alexandrova a lifeline.
