SAN JOSE: Unseeded Maria Sakkari of Greece delivered a thrilling encore performance to her previous upset over Venus Williams to beat Danielle Collins and reach her first WTA final at the Silicon Valley Classic on Saturday.

Trailing by a set and facing a 4-1 deficit in the second set against Collins, Sakkari completed a shocking turnaround to beat the American 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the semi-final.

The 23-year-old will face Romanian Mihaela Buzar­nescu who reached the final by beating fourth seed Elise Mertens 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Sakkari persevered past Williams on Friday despite trailing in both sets, and she again displayed the knack for a comeback.

She won four straight games in the second set to put pressure on Collins, and ultimately evened the match with a forehand winner.

Collins, also looking to make her first WTA final, never recovered.

Meanwhile, Buzarnescu will get another shot to break through for her first career WTA singles title after rallying back against Mertens.

In a rematch of Hobart International final in January, Buzarnescu fought back from a set down to get revenge and set up the biggest match of her career.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2018