Muchova rallies past Sabalenka again for Cincinnati final berth

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On Saturday at the Western & Southern Open, Karolina Muchova trailed Aryna Sabalenka in a semifinal match for the second time this year ... and for the second time this year, Muchova rallied to win. 

In a rematch of the pair's Roland Garros semifinal, which Muchova saved match points to win in June after trailing 5-2 in the third set, the Czech was a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 winner over second-seeded Sabalenka to advance to her first WTA 1000 final. 

Muchova will face Coco Gauff in Sunday's final, after the American had her own upset in the semifinals: After losing her first seven matches against Iga Swiatek, Gauff won a three-set thriller to reach her first WTA 1000 final. 

As a result of the 2-hour, 37-minute win, the Roland Garros finalist is also projected to rise into the Top 10 of the WTA rankings for the first time, no matter her result against Gauff.

Turning point: Both players had chances to win a hard-fought first set, which was eventually won by Sabalenka in more than 70 minutes after Muchova served for it. Sabalenka sprinted out of the gates and lead 4-1, 0-30, before Muchova won four straight games. Later, she also led 3-1 in the tiebreak. 

After she lost serve twice in the opener, Muchova never faced a break point across the second and third sets.

Stat of the day: Muchova is now 5-4 against Top 10 players in 2023. 

Championship outlook: Gauff and Muchova have never played. This will be the first WTA 1000 final between two players in their first hard-court WTA 1000 final in five years, since Aryna Sabalenka beat Anett Kontaveit in Wuhan in 2018.

More to come...

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