Veteran qualifier Tatjana Maria continued her remarkable run at Queen’s Club with victory over Australian Open champion Madison Keys to reach the final of the HSBC Championships.
The 37-year-old mother of two arrived in London on a nine-match losing run but, after coming through qualifying, she is now unbeaten in six contests and will take on American Amanda Anisimova for the trophy on Sunday.
Maria’s latest victim was American second seed Keys, who was unable to cope with the German’s unusual, slice-heavy game, falling to a 6-3 7-6 (3) defeat.
After sealing the victory, Maria celebrated with her husband and coach Charles-Edouard and elder daughter Charlotte courtside, while younger daughter Cecilia slept in a pushchair.
Saturday’s win followed a quarter-final victory over former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, and Maria, a semi-finalist at the All England Club in 2022, told the BBC: “Really, to be honest, I cannot believe it’s true.
“It’s such a special place. I could not wish a better tournament to be in the final and I’m so, so proud. I had my ups and downs but you always have to keep going. I love to play tennis, I love the sport. We live for these special moments.”
Now the world number 86 – the oldest player to make a WTA 500 singles final – will take on eighth seed Anisimova, who prevailed in a topsy-turvy battle against top seed Zheng Qinwen, winning 6-2 4-6 6-4.
Anisimova faltered having three times led by a break of serve in the second set, with both players finding the windy conditions difficult.
The turning point came after Olympic champion Zheng had recovered from another poor start to a set to lead 3-2 in the decider.
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The Chinese star had three chances to make it four games in a row but Anisimova withstood the pressure and broke serve in the next game on her way to a first grass-court final.
“I’m so happy to be through this match,” said the 23-year-old. “I’ve never gotten a win over her.
“Every time we’ve played we’ve had some really tough battles and I was just really relieved at the end there. The conditions were very tricky but we still managed to play some really good tennis.”
On facing Maria, Anisimova added: “I’m super happy to see her in the final. It’s incredible what she’s doing and her family is so cute. It’s really special for her and it’s going to be a great final.”
Meanwhile, there was a career-best victory in qualifying for the men’s event next week for Britain’s former Wimbledon junior champion Henry Searle.
The 19-year-old claimed a 7-6 (0) 7-6 (6) win over top seed Bu Yunchaokete and will take on American Mackenzie McDonald for a place in the main draw.
