Swiatek Rallies Past Sabalenka, Will Meet Jabeur For US Open Title

Iga Swiatek came from a set down and then a break down in the third to defeat Aryna Sabalenka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the US Open finals.

Seeking her first Grand Slam final, Arnya Sabalenka stormed out to a quick lead and grabber her first set off the world No. 1 this year.

After a miserable opening set, Swiatek got a handle on her serve and rolled winning the first 8 points without missing a serve. On the other side, Sabalenka was fell apart and for her third straight Slam semifinal, she faced a deciding set.

And for the third straight Slam semifinal, it wouldn’t got Sabalenka’s way.

The Belarussian would go up a break but Swiatek would take the last four games to reach her third Slam final, first on hard courts.

“I felt a huge difference between the first set and the last two,” said the 21-year-old Swiatek. “I’m pretty happy that I got my level of energy up a little bit.

“Aryna made it difficult today, for sure. I felt like she was serving pretty solid. It was hard to come back in the third, but I’m pretty happy that I did.”

In the final, the Pole will take on Ons Jabeur who cooled off Caroline Garcia with ease 6-1, 6-3 in 66 minutes.

“It feels amazing,” Jabeur said on court. “After Wimbledon there was a lot of pressure on me and I’m really relieved that I could back up my results.”

Garcia had own 13 straight matches going back to Cincinnati qualifying. She’ll return to the Top 10.

“There are still a lot of positives to take,” Garcia said. “Semifinal here, big jump in the ranking. I know where I was standing a few months back, a few years back. So let’s take the positives.”

Jabeur improves to 8-0 against Garcia with five wins dating back to juniors. Jabeur, 28, now finds herself in her second straight Slam final on Saturday.

Jabeur and Swiatek have split four meeting with Swiatek winning with ease in the Rome final this year and Jabeur winner last summer at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.

“[Jabeur] has a different game style than most of the players,” Swiatek said. “She has a great touch. All these things mixed up, yeah, she’s just a tough opponent.”