Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina fought back to beat Maria Sakkari in Saint Petersburg on Saturday and reach her third WTA final of the season from only four events.
The 20-year-old, who won the Hobart International in January after losing in the Shenzhen Open final, beat Greek sixth seed Sakkari 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
She will face either home hope Ekaterina Alexandrova or Dutch world number eight Kiki Bertens in Sunday’s final as she bids for her third WTA title.
The victory sees Rybakina projected to break into the world’s top 20 next week from her current ranking of 25th.