Qualifier stuns Radwanska to reach Stuttgart final
Qualifier Laura Siegemund continued her amazing run at Stuttgart's WTA indoor clay-court tournament on Saturday by knocking out top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the semi-finals.
Siegemund claimed her third major scalp en route to Sunday's final, where she will face fellow German and defending champion Angelique Kerber, with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Radwanska.
The 28-year-old, ranked 71st in the world, needed less than an hour and a half to dispatch her Polish opponent, who is ranked second in the world, and claim the biggest win of her career.
"I'm overwhelmed and speechless. And that doesn't happen very often," said Siegemund, who will drive home the prize of a luxury Porsche sports car if she wins the final.
"That will be staying in Germany," she smiled.
Siegemund has never won a WTA tournament and only qualified for the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time at Wimbledon last year.
She has fought her way to the Stuttgart final, also taking out seeded players Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci in the second round and quarter-finals respectively.
Earlier, Australian Open champion Kerber won her semi with a gritty 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over Petra Kvitova.
Kerber, the defending champion in Stuttgart, needed just over two hours to seal her win after Kvitova recovered from losing the first set to win the tight second.
Second-seeded Kerber dug deep in the decider by making the majority of her first serves count to seal the win.
"The great support from the public here was the key," beamed Kerber after her win.
"I can feel the same energy from the crowd there was last year, maybe even a bit more.
"I love winning here -- and hate to lose."
In a duel of left-handers, Kerber raced out to a 4-1 lead with two early breaks and although Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, pulled things back to 5-4, the German won the first set.
A single break in the second set helped Kvitova level, before Kerber established control early in the third to build up a commanding 5-2 lead and win the match.