Britain’s Emma Raducanu produced two superb victories in a day at Queen’s to reach her first grass-court final.
Raducanu overcame an injury scare to beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3 7-5 in her weather-delayed quarter-final early on Saturday afternoon.
She returned to Andy Murray Arena a little over two and a half hours later and dispatched highly-rated American teenager Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2.
The British number one, who went into Queen’s seeking to regain her form after a season disrupted by illness and injury, jumped for joy on sealing her victory as the crowd rose to applaud her.
In Sunday’s final – which you can watch live on BBC One from 13:15 BST – the 23-year-old will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic, who beat British number three Katie Boulter in straight sets.
Raducanu has not dropped a set on her run to the final and has thrived on the pressure of being the home favourite, beating two players ranked in the world’s top 20.
Currently ranked 42 in the world after a disappointing first-round defeat at the French Open, her success this week has boosted her chances of being one of the 32 seeds at Wimbledon, which starts on 29 June.
It comes after she rehired Andrew Richardson, the man who helped her claim her historic US Open title in 2021, as her coach in May.
Raducanu has struggled with injuries since that stunning triumph as a teenager in New York but is now one win away from a second career title.
“It means everything to be doing this here at Queen’s,” she told BBC TV. “The whole day has been electric.
“This week has been incredible, I really enjoy playing here and that shows in my tennis.
“Ask any British player and they would love to lift the title here.
My team and I have been through some tough moments in the last few months but we have been putting in the hard work and I want to thank them for helping me get into the final.”
Boulter’s hopes of making it an all-British final were ended with a 6-1 6-3 loss to world number 76 Vekic.
She won two matches on Friday, including a superb victory over world number two Elena Rybakina in her quarter-final.
But the 29-year-old, perhaps feeling the effects of her efforts from the previous day, struggled from the start of her semi-final and fell to a disappointing defeat in 66 minutes.
