Britain’s Emma Raducanu produced two superb victories in a day at Queen’s to reach her first grass-court final.
The 2021 US Open champion overcame an injury scare to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 7-5 in her weather-delayed quarter-final early on Saturday afternoon.
The British number one returned to Andy Murray Arena a little over two and a half hours later and dispatched highly-rated American teenager Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2.
Raducanu, who went into Queen’s seeking to regain her top form after a disrupted season, jumped for joy on sealing her victory, raising her arms to the sky in celebration as the crowd rose to applaud her.
She has not dropped a set on her run to the final and has thrived on the pressure of being the home favourite, beating two players ranked in the world’s top 20.
“It means everything be doing this here at Queen’s,” Raducanu told BBC TV. “The whole day has been electric.
“This week has been incredible, I really enjoy playing here and that shows in my tennis.
“Ask any British player and they would love to lift the title here. We’ve been through some tough moments in the last few months but have been putting in the hard work and I want to thank my team for helping me get into the final.”
“I haven’t seen Emma strike the ball as well as this since the US Open,” said former British number one Annabel Croft on BBC TV. “It’s been tougher than the scoreline suggests but she has been the one who has been mentally stronger.
“There was such resilience from her, it was flawless. The level was extraordinarily high at the start from both of them but Emma always had the upper hand, especially with her serve.
“She didn’t back away from any tough moments and turned games around when she was struggling.”
Raducanu, ranked 42nd, will seek to win her first WTA Tour title on Sunday in a match you can watch live on the BBC.
However, Katie Boulter’s hopes of making it an all-British final were ended with a straight-sets loss to Croatia’s Donna Vekic.
Boulter won two matches on Friday, including a superb victory over world number two Elena Rybakina in her quarter-final.
But the 29-year-old, perhaps feeling the effects of her efforts from the previous day, struggled from the start of her semi-final and fell to a disappointing 6-1 6-3 defeat in 66 minutes.
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