(Reuters) - American Sofia Kenin did what no other player has ever done at the Mallorca Open as she stopped Latvian Anastasija Sevastova reaching the final with a 6-4 4-6 6-2 win on Saturday.
Second seed Sevastova had reached all three previous finals at the grasscourt tournament that became part of the WTA calendar in 2016 -- winning the title once.
But 20-year-old Kenin, who reached the last 16 in the French Open this month, ended that run as she stepped up a gear in the deciding set to storm to victory and inflict only a third loss in 19 matches for Sevastova on the Santa Ponsa lawns.
She has gone one stage further than last year when she reached the semi-finals as a qualifier and will face either Wimbledon champion and top seed Angelique Kerber or Swiss Belinda Bencic in Sunday's final.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)