Jessica Pegula reached her first Grand Slam singles final after coming back from a set down to defeat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 in their stunning semifinal match late on Thursday night,.
With U.S Open winner Carlos Alcaraz of Spain withdrawing due to an injury, his compatriot Rafael Nadal has been given the top billing in the men's singles draw in the Australian Open, starting in a few days.
Swiatek had 22 winners in the clash to Pegula's 14, and she finished with only three more unforced errors than the American.
With her impressive run in the WTA 1000 tournament, the 30-year-old Halep, who will face Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia in the final here, will return to the world's Top-10 when the latest rankings are released on Monday.
The 21-year-old Swiatek moved into the French Open semifinals for the second time in her career with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over American Jessica Pegula in Paris.
A quarterfinalist in back-to-back years at the Australian Open in 2021 and 2022, Pegula's best prior result in Paris was a third round showing last year.
