Semi-final Saturday at the National Bank presented by Rogers started with a flourish, but finished on a low note as the evening session was postponed due to heavy rain in Montreal.
As a result, the remaining singles semi-final between Elena Rybakina and Liudmila Samsonova as well as the second doubles semi-final will be played simultaneously on Sunday afternoon beginning at 1:30 p.m. The singles final will then be contested at 5:30 p.m. and the doubles championship match goes at 4:00 p.m.
Earlier in the day, American Jessica Pegula was able to score her second win over World No. 1 Iga Swiatek this year, capitalizing on some patchy play from the world's top-ranked player to win 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-4 and reach the second WTA 1000 final of her career – and her first in Montreal.
It was a seesaw affair early on with both players unable to hold serve in hot, humid conditions at the IGA Stadium. Pegula was the first to hold, however, consolidating her break in the fifth game and storming ahead to an unassailable lead and win the first set in under an hour.
Pegula, seeded no. 4 the National Bank Open this year, threatened to run away with the match, serving for the win in the 10th game of the second set before Swiatek turned up her quality to break back and then steal the set in a tense tiebreak.
READ: PEGULA STOPS SWIATEK IN THREE-SET THRILLER TO REACH NATIONAL BANK OPEN FINAL
Although the 22-year-old Pole was the first to surge ahead in the decider, she was unable to find the same consistency from the baseline as Pegula, who played with tenacity to break one final time and secure victory after exactly two hours and 30 minutes of play.
Capping off the day session was a mouthwatering doubles clash between the No. 2 seeded team of Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens against No. 5 seeds Demi Schuurs and Desirae Krawczyk.
The two teams put on a show for the remaining IGA Stadium crowd, a large portion of which stuck around after the first singles semi-finals to get a taste of what women's doubles is all about.
In a battle of deft touch and lefty angles against baseline power, it was the former that won out as Schuurs and Krawczyk came back from 3-8 down in the match tiebreak, winning seven of the next eight points to prevail 6-3, 3-6, [11-9] and reach their second WTA 1000 final as a team.
It promises to be an eventful Championship Sunday at IGA Stadium thanks to Mother Nature which means the tournament is poised to finish in style with new winners being crowned in both singles and doubles.
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