Jannik Sinner reached the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with a hard-fought 4-6 7-5 6-4 victory over Andrey Rublev, avenging last week's defeat to the Russian in Montreal.
Sinner was eliminated from the Canadian Open by Rublev at his last tournament, having missed the Paris Olympic Games due to a bout of tonsillitis.
He fought back from a set down to avoid a repeat in blustery conditions in Ohio on Saturday, having looked to be in trouble when he faced two break points at a set down.
The world number one saved both of those points before recovering from an awkward fall to win a 26-shot rally at 4-4, ultimately serving out the second set at the second opportunity.
Sinner then held off something of a third-set resurgence from Rublev to seal a gruelling two-hour, 25-minute victory, before expressing pride at the way he responded to adversity.
"It took a lot of mental strength today," Sinner said after his win. "It was very tough conditions, very windy.
"In the first set he started very well and I didn't play my best tennis but in the second set, I felt I had a lot of chances. I waited for my chance. I am very happy to make the semis."
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka teed up a heavyweight semi-final clash with Iga Swiatek in the women's draw, easing to a 6-3 6-2 victory over Liudmila Samsonova.
Sabalenka needed just one hour and 19 minutes to seal her win, reeling off 10 of the last 13 games to level her all-time head-to-head record with Samsonova at 2-2.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka joins exclusive club
Sabalenka is into her fourth semi-final at the Cincinnati Open, a joint-record at the competition among WTA players in the Open Era.
Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams and Simona Halep are the only other women to achieve that feat.
Sabalenka downs Pegula in Cincinnati to win sixth WTA 1000 title
Aryna Sabalenka outclassed Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-5 to win the Cincinnati Open final on Monday.
The now world number two earned a first title since winning the Australian Open for a second time in January with a convincing performance against the sixth seed.
Sabalenka lost only four first-set points and served over 70 per cent of first serves ien route to taking the opener and broke at the first time of asking in the second before holding to love to consolidate.
Pegula would level up to make it 5-5 but Sabalenka broke for a third time to secure an advantage she would not relinquish, finishing the match with 29 winners - including 10 aces - to 23 unforced errors.
Victory marks a 15th career WTA title for Sabalenka and a sixth WTA 1000-level trophy.
Pegula sees a nine-match winning streak come to an end with defeat in the show-piece match, and also saw her hopes of becoming the first woman in over 50 years to take out the title in Canada and Cincinnati in a single season go up in smoke.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka sizzles again in Cincinnati
Sabalenka now has 18 wins at the Cincinnati Open. It represents her most in a single WTA 1000 event, beating Madrid (17). Only at the Australian Open (22) and US Open (21) does she have more in WTA tournaments.
Moreover, she now has 100 victories from 143 WTA 1000 events, becoming the fastest to rack up the landmark since Simona Halep in 2017 (100 wins from 141 such matches).
She also becomes the third player since 2004 to win the title in Cincinnati without dropping a single set, with Vera Zvonareva in 2006 and Ashleigh Barty in 2021 the others to have done so.
Pegula wary of Sabalenka ahead of Cincinnati showdown
Jessica Pegula knows she can take nothing for granted when she goes up against Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Cincinnati Open on Monday.
Pegula recently won her third career WTA 1000 title at the Canadian Open in Toronto, with all three of those triumphs having come on hard courts.
She equalled her longest career winning streak of nine matches by defeating Paula Badosa 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the semi-finals to reach the final in Cincinnati.
In doing so, Pegula became the sixth player in the Open Era to reach the finals at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open in a calendar year, joining Rosie Casals, Evonne Goolagong, Na Li, Serena Williams and Simona Halep in achieving the feat.
When asked if she was "in the zone", Pegula said: "I think I'm just finding my game a little bit and then competing and being smart out there."
The American, however, will not be complacent when she goes up against world number three Sabalenka.
The Belarusian defeated world number one Iga Swiatek in straight sets to reach the final.
"It seems like she's been playing really, really good," Pegula told the media.
"Obviously she can serve really big, so it's always tough to deal with opponents that have weapons like that, where they can get a lot of free points on a faster hard court."
Victory over Swiatek 'already in the past' as Sabalenka eyes Cincinnati success
Aryna Sabalenka said her semi-final victory over Iga Swiatek at the Cincinnati Open is firmly in the past as she looks towards ending her US Open preparations with a title.
Sabalenka, who has reached her fifth Tour-level final of the year, triumphed in straight sets over Swiatek to set up a showdown with Jessica Pegula in Ohio.
The Belarusian had lost her last three matches against Swiatek, but snapped that run to reach her first Cincinnati Open final at the fourth attempt.
"It was a brilliant performance from me. But I just want to focus on staying in the moment and giving my best tennis every time I'm on the court," Sabalenka said.
"I try to stay calm, confident and aggressive on the court. That definitely gave me a lot of confidence, going into the US Open.
"But that's already in the past, if I focus on this win, it'll stay in the past. I'm really happy with the win."
Having taken a 5-1 lead, Sabalenka saw seven match points saved by Swiatek in the seventh game, squandering two more shortly after as the Pole threatened to produce an unlikely turnaround.
But Sabalenka was able to get over the line at the 10th attempt, saying that period was the toughest moment of the encounter.
"I kept telling myself 'she's the world number one, she's going to keep fighting and doing her best'," Sabalenka said.
"You have to stay aggressive. You have to put pressure on her.
"You have to play your tennis and try. That was my mentality in the tough moments.
"That was definitely the toughest moment of the match. When I'm in the zone, what thoughts do I have? There are no thoughts. Just about the tennis.
"About the next ball coming. Just about hitting and trying to make the right decisions. You have nothing in your head."
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