Canadian Open Montreal WTA Quarter-finals Round-Up | Elina Svitolina completes remarkable comeback as Iga Swiatek downs Shnaider

The Canadian Open semifinal lineup began to take shape with two very different quarter-final stories in Toronto. Iga Swiatek delivered another dominant performance to move into the last four, while Elina Svitolina produced a remarkable comeback after dropping the opening set against Ekaterina Alexandrova. Both victories came after the two players had to navigate very different forms of pressure.

Swiatek controlled her quarter-final from the baseline, while Svitolina had to completely turn her match around after Alexandrova took the opener. The Ukrainian ultimately won eight consecutive games at one stage before overcoming a late push from the Russian to secure her place in the semifinals.

Svitolina had to recover from a difficult opening set after Alexandrova repeatedly put pressure on her serve and took advantage of the key moments. The Russian finally broke at 2-2 after Svitolina saved two break points but then double-faulted on the third, moving Alexandrova ahead. Svitolina remained within touching distance and even created another opportunity on return, but Alexandrova held firm behind her first serve to protect the advantage. She then consolidated the break and closed out the set 6-3.

The match changed completely from there. Svitolina immediately raised her level on return and began forcing Alexandrova into increasingly uncomfortable service games. The Ukrainian secured two consecutive breaks to race into a 3-0 lead and never allowed her opponent back into the set. Svitolina continued to dictate the baseline exchanges, winning six consecutive games to take the second set 6-0 and force a deciding set after a dramatic momentum shift.

Svitolina carried that run into the decider, breaking immediately and then holding to move 2-0 ahead. Her winning streak eventually reached eight consecutive games before Alexandrova finally stopped the slide with a hold at 1-2. The Russian remained within one break, but Svitolina refused to let the momentum disappear. She produced the longest rally of the match to create another break opportunity, patiently defending before finding an opening and firing a winner after the ball clipped the net.

That double-break advantage put Svitolina firmly in control at 5-1, and although Alexandrova continued to fight, the Ukrainian remained composed after conceding one of her service games. Svitolina ultimately completed the comeback 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, turning a difficult start into a commanding victory and advancing to the Canadian Open semifinals.

Swiatek made a fast start to the Canadian Open quarter-final, immediately breaking Shnaider’s serve and quickly establishing control from the baseline. The Pole consolidated the advantage and continued to put pressure on the Russian’s service games, while landing an impressive 89% of her first serves early in the set. Shnaider managed to stay within one break for a while, but Swiatek’s consistency in the longer exchanges kept her in command.

The former world No. 1 gradually increased the pressure as the set progressed. Shnaider survived one difficult service game despite committing her first double fault, but Swiatek broke again at 5-2 after the Russian saved two break points before leaving a ball in the net on the third. Swiatek then served for the set, briefly showing nerves when a double fault denied her first set point, but she remained composed and converted the second opportunity to take the opener 6-2.

Shnaider responded by holding serve to begin the second set, but Swiatek immediately restored parity before breaking again to move ahead 2-1. From there, the Pole took complete control, combining clean baseline hitting with excellent serving to leave Shnaider with very few chances to get back into the match. Swiatek landed 69% of her first serves and won 86% of those points, making it increasingly difficult for the Russian to apply pressure on return.

Another break at 4-1 put Swiatek within one game of the semifinals, and she soon moved to 5-1 with another comfortable hold. The Pole earned two match points in the following game and missed her first opportunity, but made no mistake on the second to complete a commanding 6-2, 6-1 victory. Swiatek won as much as 62% of the points contested overall and advanced to the semifinals after another dominant performance in Toronto.