Jessica Pegula fought back in a thrilling three-set battle to defeat defending champion Iga Swiatek and set up an all-American final against Coco Gauff at the Cincinnati Masters.

World number three Pegula prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in a dramatic contest that lasted nearly three hours and was disrupted by difficult, windy conditions.

Meanwhile, Coco Gauff continued her impressive run by defeating giant-killer Sara Bejlek 6-4, 6-1, ending the unseeded Czech’s remarkable campaign, which had included a fourth-round upset of world number one Aryna Sabalenka.

The two Americans will meet in Sunday night’s Cincinnati final, while the men’s title match will feature another American, Frances Tiafoe, against France’s Arthur Fils.

Fils booked his place in his first Masters 1000 final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in a match that was delayed for 45 minutes by rain and lightning.

Pegula and Swiatek were also forced to wait through a weather delay before their semi-final, with the match briefly interrupted again after just two games.

“Crazy match today,” Pegula said after finally overcoming Swiatek.

“A lot of back and forth, a lot of breaks. Really windy, kind of odd conditions. I felt like we were playing well and then not playing well.”

The opening set was dominated by breaks of serve as both players struggled to adapt to the conditions.

Swiatek eventually took control to move 4-2 ahead, but Pegula responded immediately. The American won three straight games before breaking again and eventually claimed the set when Swiatek sent a volley into the net on set point.

The second set followed a similar pattern, with the players exchanging breaks before Swiatek secured another break in the final game to level the match.

The deciding set remained fiercely contested, but Pegula broke for a 5-4 lead after Swiatek saved three break points before double-faulting on the fourth.

Pegula then served out the match, sealing victory with a service winner on match point.

“I was just really happy with the way I was able to kind of handle just a lot that was going on today,” the 31-year-old said.

Swiatek, meanwhile, will head to the US Open on August 30 encouraged by the progress she has made despite the defeat.

“We made some steps forward in this intensive part of the season,” said the six-time Grand Slam champion

“It was tough to play today with the wind, but we each put pressure on the other. I didn’t feel good in the first set but coming back in the second and using all of my chances was a good change.”

Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion, made a flying start against Bejlek by opening up a 4-1 lead.

The Czech fought back to level at 4-4, but Gauff regained control to take the opening set before dominating the second.

“I tried not to take my foot off the gas because I knew at any moment she could come back,” Gauff said.

On the men’s side, Frances Tiafoe reached the Cincinnati final for the second time after defeating fellow American Brandon Nakashima 7-5, 6-3.

Tiafoe, who finished runner-up to Jannik Sinner in Cincinnati in 2024, saved three set points in the opening set and broke Nakashima five times during a victory completed in under two hours.

“It feels damn good,“ Tiafoe said.

The American is now preparing for what he expects to be an entertaining final against Fils, predicting a “hell of a show” against the young Frenchman.

Fils, meanwhile, needed just 68 minutes to defeat seventh-seeded Cobolli and become the youngest French player to reach a Masters final since Richard Gasquet achieved the feat as a 20-year-old in Toronto two decades ago.

The 22-year-old admitted the weather interruption had made the semi-final more challenging.

“You come on court more nervous because it’s a semi-final. The rain arrives, you wait, and when you come back conditions are completely different,” Fils said.

“It was tough but I’m happy with how I dealt with it.”