Iga Swiatek powered past Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 on Monday to reach the Canadian Open semifinals, setting up a meeting with Elina Svitolina, who rallied past Ekaterina Alexandrova in Toronto.
The dominant victory gives the former No. 1 a timely boost ahead of the U.S. Open, where Swiatek won one of her six Grand Slam titles in 2022.
Swiatek controlled the match from the outset, combining precise ball striking with exceptional court coverage to overwhelm Shnaider in just 68 minutes.
She broke twice in the opening set as Shnaider struggled to find her rhythm, committing 12 unforced errors. Swiatek continued to dictate play in the second set, leaving her Russian opponent with few opportunities to mount a comeback.
Swiatek moved ahead 5-2 when Shnaider sent a forehand into the net and secured the set after another error from the Russian.
There was little respite for Shnaider in the second set as seventh-seeded Swiatek continued to dictate play from the baseline and never faced a break point.
The Pole secured a second break of the set for a 5-1 lead with a sharply angled crosscourt winner that clipped the line before wrapping up the contest when Shnaider sent a forehand long on match point.
The win puts Swiatek into her first WTA 1000 semifinal of an inconsistent season in which she has failed to advance beyond the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam and suffered a surprise second-round defeat to compatriot Magda Linette in Miami.
That loss prompted Swiatek to make a coaching change, replacing Wim Fissette with Francisco Roig.
Swiatek was also beaten in straight sets by Alexandra Eala in the third round at Wimbledon, where she was the defending champion.
Comeback win
Svitolina leaped into the air and pumped her fist in triumph after completing a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 comeback win over her Russian opponent to set up a Wednesday meeting with Swiatek, whom she beat in the Rome semifinals in May.
Alexandrova was untouchable in the first set, picking up where she left off after beating No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round.
But the veteran Ukrainian stormed back to level the match in the second set and grabbed a 4-1 lead in the third when she pounced on a net cord and hammered a backhand winner for another service break.
Svitolina dropped two games while leading 5-1 but regrouped to break serve and set up the meeting with Swiatek.