A gutsy Sloane Stephens recovered from early embarrassment to storm past Karolina Pliskova on Saturday, setting up a mouth-watering WTA Finals decider against in-form Elina Svitolina.
The former US Open champion triumphed on Saturday against an inconsistent Pliskova 0-6, 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes in Singapore.
A stunned Stephens lost the opening eight games before turning things around to win 12 of the next 15.
The hard-hitting Pliskova started red hot in what loomed as a one-sided contest before Stephens fought back with relentless hustle as the Czech went off the boil.
"I just tried to stay in it and started to feel the ball better," Stephens said after the match.
"I'm really proud of my fight."
- Svitolina through -
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"I think only a few points decided the third set because we both were playing good tennis."
"In the end she was just a more stable player."