TORONTO: Former world number one Iga Swiatek cruised into the Toronto Masters semi-finals 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 semi-final this year after Rome and is seeking her first final appearance since winning the Korea Open almost a year ago in Seoul.
“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 number eight.
Svitolina won eight consecutive games after losing the first set on the way to 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.
But a pumped-up Svitolina roared back, broke to love and finished the match with a searing return winner.
“Very pleased with my performance. With the fighting spirit,” said Svitolina. “She was playing really well in the first set. I had to really step into like a fighting mode.”
Meanwhile on Monday, evening rain and the threat of lightning forced postponement of the first two quarter-finals at the ATP Montreal Masters.
The 12-day event, which has been drawing criticism for excessive length, was unable to stage the matches due to weather interruptions that have repeatedly plagued the tournament, which lasts for nearly as long as a Grand Slam.
The oddly scheduled Masters is not due to wrap up until Thursday’s final, overlapping with the start of the Cincinnati Masters, the last major event before the US Open.
Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2026