CNN
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Iga Świątek and Jessica Pegula lead the way in Sunday’s Cincinnati Open semifinals after battling through their respective quarterfinals.

In the match against 17-year-old rising star Mirra Andreeva, Świątek was able to catch up a set deficit and finally win 4:6, 6:3 and 7:5. This secured her place in the semifinals against her long-time rival Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, American Pegula defeated Leylah Fernandez in an epic match 7:5, 6:7 (7:1), 7:6 (7:3) to reach the semifinals against Spaniard Paula Badosa.

While Pegula and Badosa have only faced each other twice, Świątek and Sabalenka are familiar opponents and constantly duel for Grand Slam and WTA 1000 titles.

Andreeva delivered a brilliant first set in her match, breaking Świątek early and not letting the Pole convert any of her break points, firing shots like a powerful forehand winner down the line to save the balls.

An ace from Andreeva decided the first set, but Świątek showed the composure that has made her the dominant player on the tour by breaking the young Russian in her first service game of the second set.

The Olympic bronze medalist did not face another break point until the final game of the match, when Andreeva had the chance to go into a deciding tiebreak, but her backhand was too long and Świątek sealed the victory shortly after.

“It was a tough match, it was really close in the third set,” Świątek told reporters afterwards. “The first set was also close, I lost my serve at the beginning and couldn’t hit back, so it was really intense.”

In the quarterfinals, Sabalenka had an easier win, defeating Liudmila Samsonova 6:3 and 6:2.

On the other side of the tie, Pegula fought for more than three hours to win against Fernandez, as the last two sets were decided in tiebreaks, but more because both players had difficulty holding their serve.

The first set saw seven consecutive breaks before Pegula took the lead in the final game. Buoyed by this, she took a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Fernandez launched an improbable comeback, winning five games in a row to take it to a decisive tiebreak.

The Canadian equalized and came back again in the third set, fending off three match points and sending it into another tiebreak, but nothing was enough to defeat Pegula.

“Today was definitely a mental battle,” Pegula told the Tennis Channel afterward. “It was very up and down, first and second set… In the end I was able to get through it.”