Anna Kalinskaya secured the biggest victory of her career as she ousted world number one Iga Swiatek in straight sets (6-4, 6-4) in the Dubai Duty Free semi-finals on Friday.
The victory continued Kalinskaya’s remarkable form in the tournament where she has already beaten top ten ranked players Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff.
She will now face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in Saturday’s final.
Kalinskaya: ‘I had to stay aggressive’
World-ranked number 40, Kalinskaya emphasised the importance of remaining composed following her upset win.
The match was the first time both players had met but Kalinskaya remained calm throughout despite multiple rallies from the four-time Grand Slam champion.
“She’s a great player. I know that if I don’t stay aggressive she is gonna destroy me,” she told Sky Sports post-match.
“My plan was to stay aggressive, move her a lot and I’m happy I won. She’s unbelievable, I’m happy I had the chance to play against her.”
Kalinskaya breaks twice to take first set
Iga Swiatek looked on course to take the opening set after a break in Kalinskaya’s serve gave her a 4-2 lead.
The underdog responded immediately however by breaking the serve of Swiatek in the seventh game to cut her lead to 4-3.
Swiatek was a point away from winning the eighth but was unable to capitalise as Kalinskaya levelled.
She went on to break again to win the first set 6-4.
Embed from Getty ImagesAbove: Kalinskaya held her nerve to win the opening set in Dubai.
Swiatek fight back not enough in second set
The second set saw another statement of intent from Kalinskaya as she broke Swiatek’s serve in the first game.
The Russian raced to a 5-2 lead, again breaking Swiatek in the seventh game but the world number one refused to go down without a fight.
After surviving two match points, Swiatek threatened to hijack the victory but was unable to prevent her second loss in 26 matches.
Anna Kalinskaya takes on Paolini in the tournament final at 3pm UK time on Saturday.
The former defeated the Italian in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.