Ekaterina Alexandrova rallies to advance to Abu Dhabi finals

Second-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova dropped the first set but battled back to defeat Hailey Baptiste of the United States on Friday, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, to secure a spot in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open final.

The Russian competitor saved a match point in the second set down 5-4, controlled her serve and won the tiebreak before ultimately winning in the third set. Alexandrova saved the final three break-point opportunities Baptiste had in the game en route to her 13th career WTA Tour final.

Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic pulled off the upset over Denmark's third-seeded Clara Tauson 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to claim the other spot in the final.

Bejlek, who had to come through qualifying to even make the tournament, has dropped just one set in the main draw and will be competing in her first WTA final.