OSTRAVA, CZECH REPUBLIC: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek racked up her 60th win of the season on Saturday with a three-set victory over Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova to reach the Ostrava WTA final.
French and US Open champion Swiatek won 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 6-4 and equalled Caroline Wozniacki, the last player to win 60 matches in a single season in 2017.
The 21-year-old Pole’s two-hour and 38-minute win also gave her a 10th successive victory and a spot in her eighth final of the year.
Swiatek is 10-1 in WTA Tour singles finals, with her only loss coming to Slovenia’s Polona Hercog in her first career championship match at Lugano in 2019.
Barbora Krejcikova also needed three sets to make the final, surviving a 17-ace barrage from Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina to triumph 3-6, 7-6 (74), 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes.
“I know that the final is going to be tough, and Barbora plays a little bit differently than my opponent today, so tactically I have to be ready,” said Swiatek.
“It doesn’t really matter for me if it’s a final or any other round, I’m just going to give it my all.”
Former French Open champion Krejcikova, who captured the Tallinn title last weekend, is on an eight-match winning streak.
The Czech will have her work cut out in Sunday’s final with the Polish star coming out on top in Miami and Rome last year.
“It’s amazing what I’ve achieved in the last two weeks, so I feel really happy and really glad with the way I’m performing so far,” said Krejcikova.