Saturday 20 June 2015 18:26, UK
Karolina Pliskova will face Angelique Kerber in the final of the Aegon Classic in Birmingham on Sunday after respective semi-final wins over Kristina Mladenovic and Sabine Lisicki.
Pliskova, 23, held her nerve amid rain delays and tie-breaks to overcome Mladenovic 6-2 7-6 (8/6) and make her fourth final of the year. She is now just one victory away from moving in to the top 10.
The unseeded Mladenovic had accounted for three seeds on her way to the semi-final but crashed out at the penultimate hurdle in a match that lasted two hours 20 minutes including an hour of rain delays.
Pliskova said afterwards: "I was shaking. She (Mladenovic) played better in the second set than the first set, and a third set would have been very tough.
"The end of the match was key. I was trying to stay calm and to centre on every point and to hold serve. My last return was a bit lucky."
Fourth-seeded German Kerber needed less time to dispatch compatriot Sabine Lisicki, as she secured a 6-3 6-3 success.
Kerber, who is currently ranked 10th in the world, made an impressive statement of her Wimbledon credentials in the match with just seven unforced errors.
