Sabalenka dethroned: defending champ stunned in Cincy
The Kazakh ninth seed delivered a brilliant performance on Friday to secure her seventh career win over a world No.1 and set up a blockbuster clash with Poland's Iga Swiatek in a showdown of Wimbledon champions, past and present.
Rybakina fired 11 aces throughout the match, winning an impressive 81 percent of points on her first serve, while saving all five break points she faced as she secured her fifth win over Sabalenka in 12 meetings.
"I'm happy with the serve. It was the key," former world No.3 Rybakina said.
"We're both big hitters. Today, I served really well. If Aryna serves well, it's completely different. Hopefully, I continue like this."
Earlier, third seed Swiatek, perhaps buoyed by her Wimbledon success in July, advanced to her first WTA 1000 semi-final in 15 months, beating Russia's Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-4.
Kalinskaya, who had defeated Swiatek in their only previous meeting, put up a spirited fight by saving four match points, before the six-times grand slam winner converted her fifth opportunity on serve to seal the victory.
"I just played my game," Swiatek said.
"For sure, it wasn't easy. Just happy I was solid and had the intensity to apply pressure."
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