LONDON: German qualifier Tatjana Maria reached the Queen´s Club final with a stunning 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) win over Australian Open champion Madison Keys on Saturday.
Mother of two Maria has enjoyed a memorable run in the first women´s tournament at Queen´s for 52 years.
The 37-year-old reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2022, but was forced to qualify for Queen´s after dropping to 86th in the WTA rankings.
Maria said she was “still living this dream” after shocking former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The German can complete her fairytale week against Chinese top seed Zheng Qinwen Zheng or American world number 15 Amanda Anisimova in Sunday´s final.
Maria has never been past the second round of any Grand Slam except Wimbledon, but once again she is proving a formidable force on the grass courts.
Keys´ exit was a blow to her preparations for Wimbledon, which gets underway across London at the All England Club on June 30. Key has failed to get beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in her 10 visits.