World No. 3 Sabalenka will move up to No. 2 in the WTA rankings, with just a week to go before the US Open begins.

“I finally broke the barrier. It was a tough battle with Iga, and we also had to be patient with the weather,” Sabalenka proudly shared after defeating the world No. 1 opponent.

Sabalenka fought hard to win, while Swiatek also fought a fierce battle at the end. Despite trailing Sabalenka 5-1 in the second set, Swiatek showed why she is ranked number one in the WTA rankings by repeatedly saving her opponent’s decisive shots.

World No. 1 Swiatek broke serve to reduce the score to 5-3, but in the end, Sabalenka won the hard-fought victory after a decisive return of serve at the 10th match point, ending the match that took place after nearly 2 hours.

“A great performance from me. I’m really happy with the win, especially against Iga. We always have tough matches and to win two straight sets… that’s also an achievement for me,” Sabalenka added.

Belarusian Sabalenka will compete for the Masters 1000 title against sixth seed Jessica Pegula, the American who won 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 over Paula Badosa (Spain).

Last week, Pegula won the Toronto title and became the third American in the Open Era to reach the Canada and Cincinnati finals in the same year, joining Rosie Casals (in 1970) and Serena Williams (in 2013).

“We had difficult conditions, but I was not discouraged by the rain delay. I felt I was playing well. Paula hit very hard, sometimes I was helpless. I had to remind myself to attack and hold my serve because it was very difficult to beat her,” said Pegula.

It will be a good challenge to face her (Sabalenka) in the final. I will try my best to cause trouble for my opponent.”

The victory over the world number 1 opponent also helped Sabalenka somewhat relieve her frustration after she lost to Swiatek in two finals on clay in Madrid and Rome last year.

“Aryna just played better today because she used her advantage well. I didn’t serve well at the beginning, which made me lose my rhythm. It was definitely not a good performance for me.

“I’m happy with the result anyway. I’ll focus on doing better in New York. And we’ll definitely have to work harder,” said world No. 1 Swiatek.

The women’s singles final between Sabalenka and Pegula will take place at 2 a.m. on August 20. Next up is the men’s singles title battle between Jannik Sinner and Francis Tiafoe.