Daria Gavrilova downed world No.10 Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets to reach the final of the Conneticut Open.
Melbourne & Olympic Parks, Olympic Blvd, Melbourne VIC • 3001, Australia, 26 August 2017 | AAP
In a huge US Open morale booster, Gavrilova outclassed the former world No.2 and Wimbledon finalist 6-4 6-4 to set up a title showdown with 2016 season-ending championship winner Dominika Cibulkova.
Gavrilova is chasing her maiden WTA Tour title after losing the final in Strasbourg in May to fellow Australian Samantha Stosur.
The 23-year-old will be brimming with confidence after guaranteeing herself a big rankings rise after holding her nerve to end Radwanska’s six-match winning streak in New Haven.
Serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, Gavrilova saved a break point with her second ace before closing out the contest in one hour and 33 minutes.
Gavrilova is projected to climb to No.22 in the world – and will crack the top 20 for the first time if she beats Cibulkova, the Slovakian former Australian Open runner-up who progressed to the final with a 6-1 6-3 win over Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens.
In the doubles, Ash Barty and Casey Dellacqua were equally impressive as they downed Elise Mertens and Kristyna Pliskova 6-2 6-1 to book a final match-up against Dabrowski and Xu.