Gauff sets up all-American final with Pegula in Cincinnati

[p]World number three [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/pegula-jessica/KdojxrAR/"]Pegula[/a] won a "[b]crazy[/b]" match against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/swiatek-iga/jNyZsXZe/"]Swiatek[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/pegula-j-KdojxrAR/swiatek-i-jNyZsXZe/?mid=lfwx3BtC"][b]7-5, 4-6, 6-4[/b][/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Gauff[/a] powered past giant-killer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bejlek-sara/jVCKq0LH/"]Sara Bejlek[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/bejlek-s-jVCKq0LH/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/?mid=Yijj9Cqp"][b]6-4, 6-1[/b][/a], ending the unseeded Czech's dream run that included a fourth-round victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka.[/p][p]Their all-American Sunday night final will a men's title clash featuring American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tiafoe-frances/AHDLJaph/"]Frances Tiafoe[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/arthur-fils/IoIhUqIN/"]Arthur Fils[/a] of France.[/p][p]Fils charged into his first Masters 1000 final with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/arthur-f-IoIhUqIN/cobolli-f-zDtaCcPe/?mid=zaHreHqR"][b]6-3, 6-4[/b][/a] victory over French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in a match delayed for 45 minutes by rain and lightning.[/p][p]Swiatek and Pegula then waited out another rain delay before their match, which was also briefly interrupted two games in.[/p][p]"[b]Crazy match today,[/b]" Pegula said after needing nearly three hours to subdue Swiatek, who was coming off her first title of 2026 in Toronto last week.[/p][p]"[b]A lot of back and forth, a lot of breaks,[/b]" she said.[/p][p]"Really windy, kind of odd conditions. I felt like we were playing well and then not playing well.[/p][p]"I[b]t was really tough to kind of get a gauge on the match.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="2c26a8cf-b2fb-4217-8445-7bb910e4f75f" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8_5ag2DYn0" social-type="youtube" /][p]The two rode a rollercoaster of breaks and re-breaks before Pegula took a 5-4 lead in the final set, Swiatek saving three break points before double-faulting on a fourth.[/p][p]Pegula quickly closed it out, firing a service winner on match point.[/p][p]"[b]I was just really happy with the way I was able to kind of handle just a lot that was going on today,[/b]" the 31-year-old American said.[/p][p]"[b]I did a good job of no matter what was happening.[/b]"[/p][p]The first five games of what evolved into an epic went against the server as Pegula and Swiatek struggled to adjust to the conditions.[/p][p]Swiatek blinked first as Pegula held at love for a 4-2 lead, but Swiatek won the next three games before Pegula broke again, finally taking the set when Swiatek smacked a volley into the net on set point.[/p][p]They had exchanged two breaks in the second when Swiatek broke in the final game to square the match.[/p][embed guid="2239f0e5-e36e-4e9a-ba06-e7be14e74da6" url="https://x.com/OptaAce/status/2091353751344824404" social-type="twitter" /][p]Swiatek leaves for the US Open starting on August 30 with a good feeling about her game despite the defeat.[/p][p]"[b]We made some steps forward in this intensive part of the season,[/b]" the six-time Grand Slam champion said.[/p][p]"It was tough to play today with the wind, but we each put pressure on the other.[/p][p]"[b]I didn't feel good in the first set but coming back in the second and using all of my chances was a good change.[/b]"[/p][p]Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion, got off to a hot start against Bejlek, jumping to a 4-1 lead. Bejlek fought back to 4-4, but the American regained her rhythm to close out the set and run away with the second.[/p][p]"[b]I tried not to take my foot off the gas because I knew at any moment she could come back,[/b]" Gauff said.[/p][p]Tiafoe, runner-up to Jannik Sinner in Cincinnati in 2024, returned to the final with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/nakashima-b-ETGnbrpH/tiafoe-f-AHDLJaph/?mid=C40P5wwh"][b]7-5, 6-3[/b][/a] victory over fellow American Brandon Nakashima.[/p][embed guid="f3cacba4-4da1-4a49-8faf-03e5d8a5b9e8" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKgSysVV7zk" social-type="youtube" /][p]Tiafoe saved three set points in the opening set, breaking Nakashima five times in all to earn the win in less than two hours.[/p][p]"[b]It feels damn good,[/b]" Tiafoe said.[/p][p]The American predicted a "[b]hell of a show[/b]" against Fils, whose 68-minute win over seventh-seeded Cobolli made him the youngest French Masters finalist since a 20-year-old Richard Gasquet in Toronto two decades ago.[/p][p]Fils admitted he had been unsettled by the weather delay.[/p][p]"[b]You come on court more nervous because it's a semi-final. The rain arrives, you wait, and when you come back conditions are completely different,[/b]" he said.[/p][p]"[b]It was tough but I'm happy with how I dealt with it.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="fe161388-5575-4c22-8129-9280f4d3ec43" url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1uq-0bnM5A" social-type="youtube" /]