Svitolina, Cornet reach Chicago Women's Open final
Elina Svitolina is in position to win her first title of 2021 after outlasting Rebecca Peterson to reach the Chicago Women's Open final.
After dropping just one game in her quarter-final win over Kristina Mladenovic, Svitolina needed nearly two and a half hours to dispatch Peterson 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 on Saturday (AEST).
The No.1 seed will seek her 16th career WTA Tour title against No.9 seed Alize Cornet, who rallied to defeat Varvara Gracheva 4-6 6-1 6-0 in the other semi-final.
Gracheva's capitulation after winning the first set was understandable, as earlier in the day she had finished off a quarter-final upset of No.8 seed Marta Kostyuk in a match that had been suspended because of darkness on Friday (AEST).
Gracheva prevailed 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4 in that contest, with play on Saturday (AEST) beginning late in the second set, but did not have enough to pull out another win.
The final will feature the eighth head-to-head meeting between Svitolina and Cornet, with the Ukrainian holding a 4-3 edge.
At Tennis in the Land, No.2 seed Anett Kontaveit defeated No.7 seed Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4 6-4 in one semi-final.
She will meet Irina-Camelia Begu in the final of the Cleveland tournament after the unseeded Romanian upset No.6 seed Magda Linette 7-6 (7-5) 6-2.
Kontaveit won her first WTA title at Guadalajara earlier this year, while Begu will be seeking her fifth Tour title and first since 2017.
