Pegula takes down No. 1 Swiatek to reach National Bank Open final in Montreal

American Jessica Pegula held on to defeat world No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-2, (4) 6-7, 6-4 in Montreal on Saturday in a match where serving appeared to be a major disadvantage, advancing to the National Bank Open women's singles final.

Pegula, the tournament's fourth seed, will face the winner of Saturday evening's semifinal between third-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan — who played until 3 a.m. local time Saturday morning — and 15th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova of Russia in Sunday's final.

Up 5-4 in the third set, Pegula broke Swiatek an 11th time after the top seed hit two shots long to take the win in two hours 30 minutes on a sunny afternoon at IGA Stadium.

Swiatek — the No. 1 for 71 weeks running — made an uncharacteristic number of errors throughout the match, including four double faults.

The two opponents only won 11 of 30 service games combined — with Pegula's 11 break points edging Swiatek's eight.

PEGULA PREVAILS