Vondrousova surprises Sabalenka to reach Berlin final

BERLIN: Marketa Vondrousova brushed aside world number one Aryna Sabalenka in Berlin on Saturday to reach her first final since lifting the Wimbledon title two years ago.

The 25-year-old Czech, ranked 164 in the world rankings, dominated Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4, to set up a title clash on Sunday with Wang Xinyu after the Chinese qualifier downed Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 6-1.

Vondrousova plummeted down the rankings from sixth after missing several months with a left shoulder injury for which she underwent surgery last year. "I didn´t play for a long time," said Vondrousova, who was appearing in her first WTA semi-final since April last year.

"I´m just happy to be back healthy, and so grateful to play these matches. "When I saw the field here, I was like, ´OK, let´s just try to win the first round,´ and then, you know, now this is happening."

Sabalenka´s first serve let her down in the opening set, but the Belarusian fought back to start the second with a break. Two games down Vondrousova levelled at 2-2, then broke to lead 5-4, wrapping up the win -- her first ever over a world number one -- but not before saving three consecutive break points, with an ace after one hour five minutes of play.

Sabalenka, 27, was losing only her first semi-final in eight last four appearances in 2025. Wang, Vondrousova´s Sunday rival on the grass in Berlin, continued her "dream" run, adding the scalp of Russian Samsonova to those already collected this week including French Open champion Coco Gauff.

For the 23-year-old, Sunday is a landmark moment - her first singles final on the WTA circuit. "This week has been a dream for me," Wang said. "I´ve been playing unbelievable tennis here. I don´t know, it´s something with Berlin, I guess!

"Coming into this match here, coming into every match, I wasn´t expecting anything, you know. For me, it was really just to enjoy the stage." Vondrousova in contrast is appearing in her sixth final, winning in Bern (2017), Wimbledon (2023)