Wozniacki claims 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory over Angelique Kerber in semi-final
Friday 29 June 2018 17:30, UK
Top seed Caroline Wozniacki will face unseeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final at Eastbourne after the Dane came through a three-set thriller with Angelique Kerber.
A high-quality match against Kerber was not without its controversy after a serve from the German was called out on match point at 6-5 in the second set.
Although Kerber correctly challenged the call, she was unable to convert having been forced to replay the point allowing Wozniacki to break back and then claim the tie-break.
The 27-year-old went on to secure a 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victory and a place in Saturday's final.
At a sweltering Eastbourne, it was two-time Grand Slam champion Kerber who started fast, breaking in the fifth game as part of a four-game run that gave her the early initiative.
However, Wozniacki improved in the second set, the Australian Open champion broke early on her way to a 4-2 lead before she was pegged back in the seventh game, and again broken in the 11th as Kerber earned the chance to serve for the match at 6-5.
A forehand winner gave Kerber match point but after the line judge wrongly called her serve wide, a cross-court winner from Wozniacki took the second set to a tie-break and a return winner down the line forced the deciding set.
A double fault saw Kerber broken in the fifth game and Wozniacki saved a break point in the eighth before closing out the win and setting up a return to the final, 12 months after she was beaten by Karolina Pliskova.
The day's first match saw unseeded Sabalenka beat former Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets.
The tone for an error-strewn match was set early on and it took until the seventh game of the contest for either player to hold serve - Sabalenka taking advantage of Radwanska's inability to win a single service game in the set.
Radwanska, back in action this week for the first time since April after recovering from back and hip injuries, battled back to claim the second having been broken in the first game.
The Pole immediately broke back before reeling off five games in succession take the match to a third set.
Aiming to reach the most high-profile final of her career to date, a closely fought third set saw Sabalenka blink first as a double-fault helped Radwanska break but, in keeping with the yo-yo nature of the contest, the 20-year-old immediately broke back and won the next three games to clinch victory.
We will keep you up to date with all the news ahead of Wimbledon including our live blogs once the action gets underway on July 2.
Our next tennis action comes from the German Open in Hamburg. Watch the action live on Sky Sports Arena from Monday, July 23 from 10am.
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