Elena Rybakina dominated in 75 minutes the first world racket and reigning champion in Cincinnati, Aryna Sabalenka, in two rounds of 6-1, 6-4 to access the semi-final of the tournament for the first time in her career.
The Kazakhe reaches a third semi-final of a tournament in the WTA 1000 series and won a 10th victory in North American soil this year.
She will face the Polish Iga Swiatek for the 10th time, who qualified for the semi-final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati by dominating the Russian Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4, Friday. The two players clashed nine times, Swiatek leading the 5-4 confrontation.
Wimbledon champion, 3rd in the world, dominated Kalinskaya, 34th in the WTA classification, who hung on when she seemed embarrassed by a problem in the left calf from the start of the game. In particular, she saved four match balls before losing.
The two players only clashed once before Friday, last year in the semi-finals of the Dubai tournament where Kalinskaya had created the surprise by defeating the Polish 6-4, 6-4, before failing for the title.
Swiatek, 24, equals his best performance in Cincinnati. Following her triumph in Wimbledon, she returned to the Montreal tournament where she had lost the eighth against the Danish Clara Tauson.
Kudermetova easily advances
The French Varvara Gracheva was swept on Friday in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 tournament from Cincinnati by the Russian Veronika Kudermetova 6-1, 6-2.
Gracheva, 103rd in the world, bowed in 1 hour 04 min after having committed five double faults in particular and sold five times her putting into play. She did not get any breakage balls.
The Frenchwoman had achieved a good performance by beating the Czech Karolina Muchova, 14th at the WTA, in the 3rd round, after eliminating the American Sofia Kenin (29th) in the second.
In the semi-finals, Kudermetova, also a double specialist (she has just won Wimbledon with the Belgian Elise Mertens), will face the Italian Jasmine Paolini (9th) or the American Coco Gauff (2nd) who meet later on Friday.
