Caroline Wozniacki on Saturday cruised into the Rogers Cup final with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sloane Stephens.
Wozniacki eliminated Stephens in a tidy 83 minutes at Aviva Centre in Toronto.
“I think I was moving very well and retrieving and just trying to stay aggressive when I could,” Wozniacki said. “But it was a difficult match. And I think it was closer than what the scoreline showed.”
Photo: USA TODAY Sport / Dan Hamilton
Wozniacki, the No. 6 seed from Denmark, was to play fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina in yesterday’s final after the Ukrainian beat defending champion Simona Halep 6-1, 6-1 in the second semi-final.
Svitolina broke Halep six times. She won each of her previous two meetings with Wozniacki.
The tournament’s singles champion is to earn US$501,975 of the US$2.74 million purse. The finalist is to take home US$243,920.
Wet weather hampered the proceedings at the WTA Tour Premier 5 event for a second straight day. The afternoon semi-final was briefly delayed in the second set.
Wozniacki knocked off top-ranked Karolina Pliskova on Friday just over five hours after they started warmups. They had to wait out four rain delays and spent nearly three hours on court.
Stephens, who is trying to regain her form after missing almost a year due to a foot injury, showed flashes of her impressive power game, but she had 41 unforced errors, compared to 11 for Wozniacki.
A former top-15 player, Stephens returned to action last month at Wimbledon. Her ranking has plummeted to No. 934 due to her extended absence.
“I didn’t win, but I think this whole week was a very big personal victory,” Stephens said. “So I didn’t win the tournament, but in my eyes I did.”
Wozniacki, a former world No. 1, is 0-5 in finals this season. The 27-year-old won the Rogers Cup in 2010 at Montreal, one of 25 career titles.
“I don’t really think too much about others when I’m out there on court, I just think about myself and what I need to do,” Wozniacki said. “And every time I step out on the court, I believe I can win. That’s really the way I think.”
Stephens did not have high expectations for this summer and was quite pleased to reach the final four.
“For this to be my third tournament back and playing like this, I mean I really couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said. “So I’m super happy with that.”
MONTREAL MASTERS
AFP
Roger Federer on Saturday raised his game to another level at the ATP Montreal Masters beating Robin Haase 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) to reach the final.
The 36-year-old Federer blasted nine aces and lost just nine points on his serve as he extended his match win streak to 16 — his longest win streak in five years.
Second seeded Federer was to meet either German Alexander Zverev or Canadian Denis Shapovalov in yesterday’s final.
Federer is seeking his 27th Masters 1,000 title and his third Canadian Masters crown after wins in 2004 and 2006.
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