Donna Vekic shocks Maria Sakkari in latest upset to reach Berlin Open final, top two seeds to face off in Birmingham

Donna Vekic produced another upset to take out sixth seed Maria Sakkari and reach the Berlin Open final on a busy Saturday. Both players took to the court twice on the penultimate day of action in the German capital, after rain on Friday forced the quarter-finals to be pushed forward a day. Ad Sakkari overcame Marketa Vondruosova in the last eight, while Vekic beat lucky loser Elina Avanesyan, both in straight sets.

WTA BerlinVekic stuns Rybakina with comeback to reach German Open quarters, Sakkari and Garcia progress21/06/2023 AT 11:29 Vekic then triumphed 6-4 7-6(8) in the first semi-final of the day, setting up a meeting against seventh seed Petra Kvitova or Ekaterina Alexandrova. The Croatian, ranked 23rd in the world, caught the eye when she defeated No. 2 seed and reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the second round.

She is now on the brink of a second title of the season and fifth career title after battling past Sakkari in two hours and 16 minutes. Vekic extended her head-to-head advantage over the Greek to 5-3 in a performance where she landed five aces and edged her opponent with four breaks to three. Earlier, Kvitova moved into the semi-finals after winning a top-10 clash in straights sets against Caroline Garcia.

The world No. 9 won 6-4 7-6 against the world No. 4 in a match where both players showcased their excellent service quality.

Kvitova claimed the first set after breaking her opponent in the first game and doubled that advantage by holding her own serve. Garcia recovered with a comfortable hold to love, before breaking the Czech for the first time to wipe out her lead. After the next two service games were held, Kvitova secured a crucial break at the fourth opportunity at the end of a