Fourth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece edged top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the J&T Banka Ostrava Open in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
It was a breakthrough for Sakkari, who snapped a string of nine straight losses in semifinals and reached her first final since May 2019, when she won her only WTA title at Rabat.
Sakkari finished with seven aces and was broken just once in the one hour, 51 minute victory.
In Sunday’s final, Sakkari will face unseeded Anett Kontaveit of Estonia, who stunned second-seeded home favorite Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Sakkari has beaten Kontaveit six times in 10 previous meetings, most recently at the Tokyo Olympics.
–Field Level Media