Marie Bouzkova moved into the final of the Washington Open by upsetting Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center on Saturday evening.
The match was interrupted by rain partway through the final set, with the players enduring a muti-hour delay before getting back on court. When they did, Bouzkova was the sharper of the two, quickly gaining a break and going on to book her spot in the final.
Bouzkova, ranked No 43, will play Spanish wildcard Paula Badosa for the title.
Marie Bouzkova won against American qualifier McCartney Kessler (6-4, 4-6, 6-2), American Taylor Townsend (7-5, 7-6 (8)) and American wildcard Robin Montgomery (6-3, 6-1) ahead of her victory.
In the previous rounds of the Washington tournament, Sabalenka, ranked No 3, edged out Russian qualifier Kamilla Rakhimova (7-5, 4-6, 6-4) and defeated No 6 seed Victoria Azarenka (6-4, 6-4).
Washington WTA 500, other semi-final result (William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center, hard, USD 922.573):
