(Reuters) – Diana Shnaider overcame a second-set stumble to beat American third seed Emma Navarro 7-5 2-6 6-3 in the Bad Homburg Open semi-finals on Friday, setting up a clash with Donna Vekic.
Croatian Vekic defeated qualifier Viktoriya Tomova 6-0 7-6(6) to reach the final.
Russia’s Shnaider was struggling with a shoulder injury as Navarro, ranked 19th in the world, dominated the second set and went 3-1 up in the third, but put on a clinical performance to win five games in a row and qualify for her first ever WTA-500 final.
Vekic won eight games straight before Tomova fought back and got her first break to go 5-4 up in the second set, but Vekic ultimately prevailed in tiebreak to reach her fifth grasscourt final just before Wimbledon next week.
Vekic will face Wang Xiyu in the first round of Wimbledon on July 1, while Shnaider will play Karolina Pliskova.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Purulia)
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