Elena Rybakina won a battle of nerves on Saturday as she ended the 10-match WTA Stuttgart win streak of Iga Swiatek 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
The upset of the world No. 1 and winner of the last two editions on the German indoor clay took nearly three hours and denied Swiatek the possibility of a trophy hat-trick in the car-making capital.
Rybakina earned her fourth defeat of Swiatek and moved into a fifth final this season. She owns 2024 titles in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi while finishing runner-up in Doha and Miami.
The Kazakh matched the accomplishment of Victoria Azarenka in 2012 by reaching five tournament finals in the first four months of Tour play.
Swiatek felt the pressure on serve as she faced 20 break points, saving 16 while breaking her 2022 Wimbledon champion opponent twice
The Polish top seed was caught out by seven double faults among 42 unforced errors.
