Aryna Sabalenka reached the Cincinnati Open final for the first time by toppling Iga Swiatek, clinching an impressive 6-3 6-3 victory over the world number one.
Sabalenka needed one hour and 48 minutes to beat Swiatek and book a final meeting with either Jessica Pegula or Paula Badosa.
The Belarusian entered Saturday's heavyweight clash having lost on all three of her previous semi-final appearances at Cincinnati, falling short of the showpiece match in 2018, 2022 and 2023.
However, she produced a fine performance to end that hoodoo on Sunday, preying on a below-par showing from Swiatek, who won just six of 30 points on her second serve throughout.
Sabalenka made her intentions clear by breaking to love in the second game of the encounter, and though Swiatek hit straight back, another break in the sixth game was enough to hand her the opening set.
Both players were tested on their own serve in the second set, with Sabalenka saving four of five break points faced while converting three of 13 she generated on Swiatek's serve.
Swiatek saved a remarkable 10 match points, eight of them against her own serve, as Sabalenka was forced to clinch her victory the hard way, but a fifth break of the match finally got her over the line.
Sabalenka has now made five WTA Tour-level finals in 2024, the joint-most alongside Swiatek and Elena Rybakina.
Data Debrief: Another big scalp for Sabalenka
Sabalenka's victory was her fourth over a world number one at WTA 1000-level events since the format's 2009 introduction, the joint-most of any player alongside Petra Kvitova.
She has now reached a total of 29 WTA Tour-level finals, the most of any player on the tour since 2017 (Swiatek is second with 26).
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."
Sinner proud of overcoming 'difficult moment' to reach Cincinnati final
Jannik Sinner was proud of overcoming a "difficult moment" to reach the Cincinnati Open final after dramatically outlasting Alexander Zverev in a third set tie-break.
Sinner, who was seen visibly struggling with a hip injury for parts of the contest, eventually emerged a 7-6 (11-9) 5-7 7-6 (7-4) victor in over three hours in Ohio.
The world number one picked up the injury in Madrid back in May, further aggravating it in his shock quarter-final defeat by Andrey Rublev at the Canadian Open.
"It means a lot to me. It's a very different moment, what I'm going through, so I'm very happy about this result," Sinner said in an on-court interview.
"The physical aspect, of course, I have to improve, because if I want to win grand slams or a bigger title, I have to be, for sure, more in shape.
"But I just tried to stay there mentally, which I'm very proud (of), and let's see what's coming tomorrow."
Zverev started brightly and was three points away from serving out the opening set until the Italian levelled at 5-5, only for rain to interrupt play.
Sinner returned to claim the early advantage, only for Zverev, who had won all four of their previous encounters, to respond in the second to take the game the distance.
Neither player faced a break point in the decider, but it was Sinner who took control of the tie-break, dropping just one point on serve as the triumph was sealed when Zverev sent a backhand long.
The world number one will face Frances Tiafoe, who reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final after defeating 15th seed Holger Rune in three sets.
Data Debrief: Sinner continue hard court dominance
Sinner's triumph saw him become the first Italian in the Open Era to reach the men's singles final at the Cincinnati Open, and the first since 1973 to claim 5+ ATP top five wins in consecutive seasons.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Sinner has won 15 of his 20 matches on hard court against opponents ranked in the ATP’s top five.
World number two, Novak Djokovic (six), has the next-most over that span on the surface.
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