One of the game’s tops players will reach the Cincinnati final for the first time.

(WTA) No. 6 Jessica Pegula vs. Paula Badosa

In the best match of Quarterfinal Saturday, World No. 6 Jessica Pegula survived a three-hour, four-minute match to defeat Leylah Fernandez, 7-5, 6-7, 7-6 (3).

Pegula, who had double faulted six time through the first two sets, did so just once in the final set, winning 65 percent of her first serve points and 69 percent of her second serve points.

“On a fast court with the light balls and the wind, the momentum can change really, really quickly. Second set, I kind of ended a little bit annoyed, but I was able to reset really quickly in the third,” Pegula said.

Pegula is now 9-0 all-time against Canadian opponents, including two wins this year over Fernandez. If she can extend her current eight-match winning streak to 10, she will become just the fifth American to win the Cincinnati Open, and the first woman since Cincinnati became a WTA 1000 event in 2004 to win Toronto and Cincinnati back to back.

In the final women’s quarterfinal, Paula Badosa made quick work of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, winning 6-3, 6-2. It is her second WTA 1000 hard court semifinal this year, having previously advanced the the final in Washington, D.C.

Badosa ranks ninth on the WTA Tour with 189 aces this year. She finished the quarterfinal with three, but did win 37 service points and broke Pavlyuchenkova’s serve three time.

Pegula is 2-0 against Badosa. The two have not played since April 2023.

(ATP) No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 3 Alexander Zverev

Just a few hours after Swiatek survived a three-set thriller to advance to the women’s semifinals, No. 1 Jannik Sinner did the same against No. 6 Andrey Rublev to reach his first Cincinnati Open semifinal.

After dropping the first set 4-6 and trailing late in the second set, Sinner rattled off six straight wins to take the second set, 7-5, and stake a 3-0 lead early in the third. He eventually finished off the quarterfinal with a 6-4 third set win.

“Today was very windy and we tried to be as consistent as possible, but it was very difficult to serve, was very difficult to return, and also in the match itself, it was not easy, but I tried to stay very positive,” Sinner said.

Sinner is now tied with No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz for the most top 10 wins on the ATP Tour this year with eight. He also improves to 26-2 on the hard courts this year.

His opponent is No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who advanced to his third straight semifinal in Cincinnati with a 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 win over American Ben Shelton. It is also his 19th ATP Masters 100 semifinal, moving him into a tie with Tomas Berdych and Lleyton Hewitt for the eighth-most semifinals since 1990.

Multiple players have commented on how fast the courts are playing this week, but an additional external factor was thrown in Saturday with swirling wind. Zverev and Shelton’s semifinal was also suspended for about 10 minutes in the third set due to rain.

“Being down 4-3 and 5-4 in the final set and trying to stay in the match, you don’t want the rain delay in the moment, but it is what it is. Nothing we can control, but I feel like I managed it well today,” Zverev said.

Zverev owns a 5-1 record against Sinner, including a 3-0 mark on the hard courts.

“Hopefully it’s going to be a high-level match,” Zverev said

(ATP) Frances Tiafoe vs. No. 15 Holger Rune

After Shelton’s exit, Frances Tiafoe is the last American remaining in the men’s singles draw. His match with Hubert Hurkacz lasted just just one 45-minute set.

Hurkacz retired because of a calf injury after Tiafoe won the first set, 6-3. With his 200th tour-level win, Tiafoe is through to his first semifinal in Cincinnati. In eight previous appearances, his best finish was the Round of 16 in 2017.

It will be a first-time meeting between Tiafoe and World No. 16 Holger Rune, who will also appear in his first Cincinnati Open semifinal.

The 21-year old broke Jack Draper at a crucial point in the first set of their quarterfinal on his way to a 6-4 win, then went up 2-0 and 5-2 thanks to two more break points.

This is Rune’s fourth ATP Masters 1000 semifinal appearance; he won his three previous semifinals. Tiafoe lost his only previous ATP Masters 1000 semifinal appearance (2023 Indian Wells to Daniil Medvedev).

See Andy Roddick host his live ‘Served’ podcast in Cincinnati

Tennis pro Andy Roddick hosted a live show of his podcast, “Served with Andy Roddick,” at Sonder Brewing in honor of the Cincinnati Open.