Elina Svitolina stuns ailing Lucie Safarova

World number six Lucie Safarova has been knocked out of the Cincinnati Open in the quarter-finals by Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, losing 6-4 2-6 6-0.

The Czech recovered from losing her serve early in the first set, but soon found herself trailing again as the world number 20 hit her stride quickly, preventing Safarova from dictating the rallies.

After wrapping up the opening set, Svitolina started to allow mistakes to creep into her game, losing four games in a row to allow Safarova back into the match.

The French Open runner-up appeared to be struggling with an injury throughout the third set though, unable to use her pace around the court, allowing Svitolina to wrap it up 6-0.

Svitolina will play world number one Serena Williams in the last four.