Cincinnati Open: Gauff upsets world No.1 Swiatek

Cincinnati: Coco Gauff of USA upset women’s world number one Iga Swiatek in a thriller to reach the Cincinnati Open final.

Gauff had never managed to win a set in seven previous matches against Swiatek, but eventually won 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-4.

The 19-year-old dominated the first set tie-break but Swiatek broke early in the second set and levelled the match.

But Gauff grabbed her first break-point chance in the decider and held on for the biggest win of her career.

She will face French Open finalist Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s final after the Czech world number 17 defeated second seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-2.

Muchova found herself 4-1 down in the opening set but turned things around and served for it before being broke to 15 – and Sabalenka came through again in the tie-break

But Muchova dug in and defended well, combining aggression with shot variety to gain the upper hand and set up a first tour meeting with Gauff, with both players into their maiden WTA 1000 final.