Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina held off Russia's Veronika Kudermetova to reach her first WTA 1,000 final at the Italian Open in Rome on Friday.
Kalinina won 7-5 5-7 6-2 in two hours 51 minutes.
This makes her the lowest-ranked player to reach the Italian Open final since 1986.
“I can’t feel my legs!” Kalinina joked after the match.
“There was so much tiredness in the last couple of days, three sets, three sets, three sets.
“I’m happy to be able to go through.”
The 26-year-old will face either reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina or former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko in Saturday’s final.
“First of all, I need to recover before tomorrow,” she said as she looked ahead to the final.
“Because the tournament is still not over and, of course, another battle is waiting tomorrow.
“Both girls are tough players, it’s never easy on this tour but this is an amazing feeling, that I’m battling and I can go through and am able to compete at this level.
“For me, it’s new. But I’m really happy.”
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