Unseeded German Julia Goerges enjoyed her third straight win over former world number one Caroline Wozniacki to reach the final of the Dubai tennis championships on Friday.
Goerges will play Agnieszka Radwanska in Saturday's final after the Pole also beat a former world number one, Jelena Jankovic, 6-2 2-6 6-0.
Goerges had a tough, 7-6 7-5 win over defending champion and third seed Wozniacki in a match full of ups and downs for both players.
The 23-year-old German had set point at 5-3 in the first set but eventually needed a tiebreak to seal it, then rallied from 4-2 down for the second set.
"I didn't play my best game today. I made way too many unforced errors, and Julia took advantage of it," said Dane Wozniacki, who lost to Goerges in Stuttgart and Madrid last year.
"She didn't really allow me to get a rhythm. Every time I felt I was back in the game, I made some unforced errors at very important times, which of course is a bit disappointing, but I can't do anything about it now."
Radwanska, the fifth seed, lost her way in the second set against Serbia's Jankovic, dropping her serve three times. She found her range again in the third set and held her three service games to love.
Both Radwanska and Goerges could reach career-high rankings with victory in the final: Radwanska would move from number six to five, while Goerges would go from 19 to 15.
(Writing by Clare Fallon in London; Editing by Justin Palmer)
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