Elena Rybakina rallied past Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the National Bank Open final, where she will face former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in a clash between two of the leading contenders heading into the U.S. Open.
The second-seeded Rybakina recovered from a tight opening set and took control in the final two sets, completing the comeback shortly before 1 a.m. local time in Toronto.
The Australian Open champion had already fought back from a set down to defeat Naomi Osaka in the quarterfinals, and she produced another composed response against Gauff after the American took the opening set.
Gauff, the fourth seed, led 5-4 in the first set before closing it out 7-5. Rybakina immediately changed the momentum, breaking early in the second set and recovering from a 2-1 deficit by winning four consecutive games to level the match.
She carried that momentum into the deciding set, repeatedly putting pressure on Gauff's serve and capitalizing when opportunities appeared.
"She served really well in the first set," Rybakina said. "It was pretty close the first one, and then I feel like on my serve I rushed a little bit in the end."
Rybakina said she knew she needed to make an immediate adjustment.
"I knew that I need to start straight away the second set well," she said. "I'm happy that I did a couple of good returns, and then things turned around."
The Kazakh said the long run of matches may have helped her maintain her level late in the contest, particularly after her three-set win over Osaka.
"I guess the adrenaline and so many hours on the court helped a bit," Rybakina said. "I got my opportunities, I took them."
Rybakina is now one victory away from her third title of the season after winning the Australian Open and Stuttgart tournaments. Her strong run in Canada is also helping her close the gap on No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka with the U.S. Open approaching.
Standing in her way will be Swiatek, who reached her first final of the year by beating Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
The seventh-seeded Swiatek overcame a rain delay of more than an hour and a second-set surge from Svitolina to secure her place in the championship match.
Swiatek raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and eventually took it 6-3, although Svitolina made her work to close it out by saving two set points in the final game.
The Ukrainian responded emphatically in the second set, winning five of the first six games to level the match.
Svitolina then moved ahead 3-2 in the deciding set, but Swiatek immediately hit back. The Polish star won four straight games, breaking Svitolina at love for a 5-3 advantage before serving out the match.
"Against Elina it's always tough, so I'm happy that I won this one," Swiatek said. "Especially that I came back in the third set playing better. So, yeah, that's for sure a big improvement. I'm proud of myself."
The victory improved Swiatek's record against Svitolina to 5-3. Svitolina had beaten Swiatek twice this year and was seeking her third WTA 1000 final of the season after winning in Rome and finishing runner-up in Dubai.
Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, has not won a title since Seoul nearly a year ago and will now have an opportunity to end that drought against Rybakina.
She said the key to turning the match around in the deciding set was improving the quality of her shots rather than making major tactical changes.
"Because tactics can't do much if you're just not hitting the ball right," Swiatek said. "I knew I can do it, because I did it in the first set. I'm happy that I was patient enough to do that and didn't get disappointed or didn't give up."
The women's final will pit Rybakina's power and aggressive serving against Swiatek's relentless baseline game in a matchup that could offer an early indication of their form ahead of the U.S. Open.
In the men's draw, defending champion Ben Shelton reached the final in Montreal with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 victory over Learner Tien.
The 23-year-old American needed only 1 hour, 24 minutes to advance, despite saving break points in each of his first two service games.
Shelton seized control early and never allowed Tien to establish a rhythm, earning a chance to defend the title on home soil.
"Super happy with the performance," Shelton told ATP Tour. "Learner is a guy who presents me with a lot of problems in my game. A tough challenge to overcome. To get a win over him in the fashion that I did, I'm super pleased with that."
Shelton will face fellow American Brandon Nakashima, who defeated Rafael Jodar 7-6(3), 6-4 in the other semifinal.
