Pegula Topples Defending Champion Swiatek to Reach Cincinnati Final; Fils Secures Maiden Masters 1000 Final Berth

CINCINNATI, Ohio — Jessica Pegula rallied from a break down in the final set to dethrone defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 on Saturday, booking her spot in the Cincinnati Open final. In the men’s draw, Arthur Fils advanced to his first Masters 1000 final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Flavio Cobolli.

World No. 3 Pegula and seventh seed Swiatek exchanged early breaks before rain halted proceedings at 1-1 in the opening set. Upon resumption, Pegula seized control, breaking for a 3-2 lead and consolidating with a love hold to move ahead 4-2. Swiatek fought back to level at 4-4 and nosed in front, but at 5-5, a Swiatek double fault handed Pegula the decisive break. The Pole then missed a return and sent an overhead smash into the net to surrender the set.

Swiatek raised her aggression in the second set, breaking in the sixth game for a 4-2 advantage. Pegula immediately broke back to restore parity, yet the former world No. 1 closed out the set in the tenth game when Pegula misfired on a forehand return.

Undeterred, Pegula refused to fold after Swiatek surged to a 3-1 lead in the decider. The American leveled at 4-4, claimed the critical break in the following game, and served out the victory after two hours and 47 minutes. “It was a really tough match. She is in great form,” Pegula said. “To beat someone who is such a great athlete like Iga in the semis and to make it to another 1000 final, it’s awesome.” Pegula will face fourth-ranked Coco Gauff in Sunday’s final after Gauff dispatched unseeded Czech Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-2. Bejlek, 20, had stunned world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka en route to the semifinals.

Fils Prevails in Men’s Draw

In the men’s semifinals, 22-year-old Fils secured his maiden Masters 1000 final appearance, where he will meet the winner of the all-American clash between Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe. Fils’s 68-minute triumph over seventh-seeded Cobolli made him the youngest Frenchman to reach a Masters final since a 20-year-old Richard Gasquet in Toronto two decades ago.

Fils admitted the weather delay disrupted his rhythm. “You come on court more nervous because it’s a semifinal. The rain arrives, you wait, and when you come back conditions are completely different,” he said. “It was tough but I’m happy with how I dealt with it. My goal since the start of the season was to try to go deep in those big tournaments, try to play on the biggest stadium. That’s what we are doing here. I’m pretty happy with the performance today, with the whole week, but I want to go further.”

Tough Rallies Swing Momentum

Cobolli grabbed an early edge with a break for 2-1 but promptly dropped his serve to love. The Italian was broken again as Fils caught the corner to move 5-3 ahead, serving out the opening set in 25 minutes. Fils broke to start the second set, his intensity rising, and sealed the win with a blistering forehand winner past Cobolli. “I started out slow but the momentum began to change from 4-3 in the first set when I won some tough rallies,” Fils said. “The momentum started going my way and I felt much better on serve.”

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