TENNIS
Svitolina to fight Cornet for her first 2021 title at Chicago
Elina Svitolina and Alize Cornet reached the WTA Chicago Women's Open final.
Elina Svitolina is in position to win her first title of 2021 after outlasting Rebecca Peterson to reach the final.
Svitolina to fight Cornet for the Chicago Open trophy
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 Friday.
The top seed will seek her 16th career WTA Tour title against ninth-seeded Alize Cornet, who rallied to defeat Varvara Gracheva 4-6 6-1 6-0 in the other semi.
Gracheva pulled out a step away from the 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 eighth seed Marta Kostyuk in a match that had been suspended due to darkness Thursday.
Gracheva prevailed 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 6-4 in that contest, with play on Friday 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.
Cleveland final: Kontaveit vs. Begu
At Tennis in the Land, second seed Anett Kontaveit defeated seventh 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 sixth 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.