Pegula, Gauff arrange Cincinnati title dispute

CINCINNATI — Jessica Pegula rallied in the third set to topple defending champion Iga Swiatek and book a title showdown with Coco Gauff at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.

World No. 3 Pegula won a “crazy” match against Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Gauff powered past giant-killer Sara Bejlek 6-4, 6-1, ending the unseeded Czech’s dream run that included a fourth-round victory over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

Their all-American Sunday night final will be with the men’s title clash featuring American Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fils of France.

Fils charged into his first Masters 1000 final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in a match delayed for 45 minutes by rain and lightning.

Swiatek and Pegula then waited out another rain delay before their match, which was also briefly interrupted two games in.

“Crazy match today,” Pegula said after needing nearly three hours to subdue Swiatek, who was coming off her first title of 2026 in Toronto last week.

“A lot of back and forth, a lot of breaks,” she said, “Really windy, kind of odd conditions. I felt like we were playing well and then not playing well.

“It was really tough to kind of get a gauge on the match.”

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.

Pegula quickly closed it out, firing a service winner on match point.