MASON, Ohio (AP) \u2014 Jessica Pegula beat defending champion Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff defeated Sara Bejlek on Saturday to set up the first all-American women’s final at the Cincinnati Open in 56 years.<\/p>\n
Pegula rallied from down a break in the third set to get past Swiatek, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, for her tour-leading 45th win this year. It was the 300th tour-level victory of Pegula’s career, and it snapped Swiatek\u2019s 10-match winning streak.<\/p>\n
Pegula\u2019s best finish in Cincinnati came in 2024, when she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final.<\/p>\n
Gauff, the 2023 champion, beat Bejlek, 6-4, 6-1. The 20-year-old Czech upset top seed Aryna Sabalenka and Madison Keys en route to the semis.<\/p>\n
The last time two American women played in the Cincinnati final was in 1970, when Rosie Casals beat Nancy Richey.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always rooting for American tennis,\u201d Pegula said. \u201cI like to play someone that I get along with and have a lot of respect for, like Coco. I didn\u2019t realize it was so long since we\u2019ve had a double American final. The crowd can just go out there and enjoy the match.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tiafoe and Fils to meet in men’s final<\/p>\n
On the men’s side, Frances Tiafoe defeated fellow American Brandon Nakashima, 7-5, 6-3, to set up a final against Arthur Fils of France.<\/p>\n
It will be the first time two Black players have met in an ATP Masters 1000 final.<\/p>\n
Sunday’s winner will be the third Black man to win a Masters 1000 title, joining Ben Shelton, who won Canada twice, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who won Paris in 2008 and Canada in 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome for, you know, for a bunch of kids looking up to us and want to be in our position,\u201d Tiafoe said. \u201cThat’s what it’s about. It’s always nice to be a part of history. Hopefully we can have more big finals like this having people of color, and I\u2019m super pumped about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tiafoe reached the 2024 final in Cincinnati, losing to Jannik Sinner in three sets.<\/p>\n
Fils defeated 10th-ranked Flavio Cobolli, 6-3, 6-4, on Saturday. He became the second French player to reach the Cincinnati final, joining Guy Forget in 1991.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old beat Tiafoe in three sets last year in Miami, in their only prior meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrances is Frances,\u201d Fils said. \u201cI mean, whenever he has to show up on the big stage that’s where he plays his best. It\u2019s going to be a nice final to play against an American, so the crowd\u2019s going to be against me, but I think I\u2019m going to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n