(Reuters) - Qualifier Ons Jabeur battled past Anastasija Sevastova 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the Kremlin Cup semi-finals on Friday to reach her first WTA final, where she meets local hope Daria Kasatkina.
Tunisian Jabeur, playing in her seventh match of the event, fired 45 winners and had five breaks to outlast the world number 11 in an hour and 38 minutes in Moscow.
"This is really amazing and I'm really happy. I gave it all today and it wasn't easy because she plays really good," Jabeur, said before thanking a number of her compatriots in the crowd.
"I'm really happy that Tunisians are here. They helped me through the end because it was a little bit difficult."
Russia's Kasatkina later ended Briton Johanna Konta's run with a clinical 6-4 6-3 victory to reach the final of the tournament for the second year in a row.
Kasatkina lost last year's title clash to Julia Goerges but the 21-year-old will be confident going into her second meeting with Jabeur, who she beat in the Rio Olympics from a set down.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra)