Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina upset world number four Coco Gauff to set up a final against Jessica Pegula at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
American Pegula was the first to win her semi-final, fighting back from a disastrous opening set and early break of serve in the second set to defeat compatriot Amanda Anisimova 1-6 6-4 6-3.
Gauff, 21, had a chance to make it an all-American final on Saturday, but Svitolina recorded a 6-4 6-7 (13-15) 6-4 in an epic encounter that lasted three hours and three minutes.
The 31-year-old Svitolina had four match points in the second-set tie-break and could not take them, but still managed to win the decider.
In the men’s Qatar Open, world number one Carlos Alcaraz maintained his perfect start to 2026 with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory over Russia’s Andrey Rublev to move into the final.