Top-seeded Barbora Krejcíková and No. 2-seeded Jelena Ostapenko will contest the Birmingham Classic final on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET after taking contrasting paths.
Krejcíková hasn’t dropped a set all week after dispatching Zhu Lin of China 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals on Saturday in England.
Ostapenko played her fourth consecutive three-set match when she beat fourth-seeded Anastasia Potapova 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
In a matchup of former French Open champions, Ostapenko leads the head-to-head against Krejcíková 4-2, including winning their most recent match last month in the Italian Open third round. But they have never met on grass.
By beating Zhu, the 12th-ranked Krejcíková will return to the top 10. She will be playing for her seventh singles title on Sunday and second of the year, after the Czech won Dubai in February.
Ostapenko took more than two hours to put down Potapova. Potapova needed six set points to clinch the first set. Ostapenko built a 4-0 lead in the second to even the set score.
The Latvian snatched the decisive break in the decider when she made four return winners to take Potapova’s service game at 3-3.
“It’s important to win these kind of matches when you’re sometimes not playing your best, and you just fight for every point,” the 17th-ranked Ostapenko said.
In her first final in almost a year, she will be aiming for her sixth singles title.
Unseeded Donna Vekic in Berlin final
Donna Vekic will play two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the final of the Berlin Open after both won twice on Saturday.
The unseeded Vekic upset Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-6 (8) in their semifinal, shortly after beating Elina Avanesyan 6-2, 7-6 (0) in their rain-delayed quarterfinal.
Friday’s play was washed out at the grass-court tournament in Berlin, forcing the postponement of all the quarterfinals to Saturday.
The sixth-seeded Sakkari defeated Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (7), 6-1 but was unable later to fend off Vekic’s persistence in the semifinals. The 23rd-ranked Croatian took her fourth match point in the tiebreak to win in two hours 16 minutes and advance to her second final of the season. It’s her first on grass in four years.
Kvitova defeated Caroline Garcia 6-4, 7-6 (3), then ended ‘s-Hertogenbosch champion Ekaterina Alexandrova’s seven-match winning streak with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 semifinal win to advance to her 42nd career final.
Alexandrova was the only one of the four semifinalists not to play twice after Russian compatriot Veronika Kudermetova withdrew from their quarterfinal with a left hip injury.
Alcaraz close to reclaiming No. 1 ranking
Carlos Alcaraz reached his first ATP final on grass and moved one win away from reclaiming the top ranking by taking out Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-4 at the Queen’s Club Championships in London.
Alex de Minaur stands between Alcaraz and the trophy and No. 1 ranking.
Alcaraz and Korda played their first career semifinal on grass.
Korda, the first American to reach the Queen’s semifinals in 11 years, served nine aces but also double-faulted six times. His slice was regularly punished by Alcaraz’s heavy forehands.
Alcaraz won the only break point of the second set and held on.
Victory would give the U.S. Open champion his fifth title of the year, his 11th tour title overall and move the 20-year-old Spaniard above Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings — meaning he would also enter Wimbledon next month as the No. 1 seed.
The second-seeded Holger Rune also came to London never having won a tour-level match on grass, like Alcaraz.
De Minaur knocked out Rune 6-3, 7-6 (2), saving the three break points he faced and breaking the 20-year-old Dane’s serve twice.
De Minaur has pedigree on grass. The Australian won Eastbourne in 2021 and reached the Wimbledon last 16 in 2022.
“I have played decent on grass and I am having a good week, and this was my best performance of the week,” he said.
De Minaur won the biggest title of his career — and his seventh — in February at Acapulco.
Zverev denied another chance at German title
Alexander Bublik will play Andrey Rublev in the final of the Halle Open after straight-sets semifinal wins on Saturday in Germany.
Bublik defeated Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-5 and Rublev beat Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 6-4 on grass.
The 48th-ranked Bublik hit 14 aces and saved the only break point he faced from 22nd-ranked Zverev.
“The job is not finished, there is one last match,” the Kazakh player said. “I am happy, but I try to stay focused.”
Zverev reached the Halle final in 2016 and 2017. He was aiming for his first title since 2021.
Bublik is looking for his second career trophy after winning in Montpellier last year, while Rublev will be looking for his second of the season after triumphing in Monte Carlo in April. The seventh-ranked Russian seeks his 14th title altogether and his first on grass.
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