Jessica Pegula continued her rollercoaster Cincinnati Open campaign with a "crazy" three-set victory over reigning champion Iga Swiatek to reach the final.

She will appear in the showpiece for the second time in the last three years after coming from behind in the decider to earn a 7-5 4-6 6-4 victory in a marathon two-hour-and-51-minute clash.

Neither player stayed on serve across the first five games, with Pegula taking the advantage at 3-2, though Swiatek soon cancelled that out to draw back level at 4-4.

Pegula regained her edge to take the first set, winning the final three games to take the lead, and though both players managed to hold onto serve at the start of the second, there were break points aplenty.

Swiatek took the lead in this one in the sixth game, only for Pegula to immediately hit back, but the Pole forced a decider with yet another break in game 10.

And the 2025 Cincinnati champion looked set to give herself a chance to defend the trophy after opening up a 3-1 lead in the third set.

Again, the American broke straight back and rounded off the match with another three-game winning streak to book her place in the final.

ALL-AMERICAN FINAL @MercedesBenz | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/ZmbQ0qEhK5

— wta (@WTA) August 23, 2026

"Crazy match," Pegula said. "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. It was really tough to kind of get a gauge on the match."

Pegula will face Coco Gauff in the final, though her compatriot faced a much smoother journey into the final two.

Gauff swept aside surprise package Sara Bejlek 6-4 6-1 in just 77 minutes, rounding off the match with a four-game winning streak after being put through her paces in the first set.

Cincinnati prepares for all-American final

Not since 1970 has there been two Americans at the Cincinnati Open final, but home fans will be given two of their own to choose between on Sunday.

In fact, it is just the second all-American showpiece after Rosie Casals and Nancy Richey's clash that year.

It was a milestone win for Pegula, who has won each of her last three matches in three sets; she is the fourth active American to claim 300 wins in WTA-level main draws after Serena Williams (835), Venus Williams (781) and Madison Keys (375).

And at 32, she is the third-oldest finalist at Cincinnati in the Open Era, younger only than Svetlana Kuznetsova (2019) and Serena Williams (2014 and 2015).

But she will face a tough test from Gauff, who is now the player with the joint-most main-draw wins at the tournament in the Open Era before turning 23 (13, equalling Linda Tuero).