Hamburg Open: Rus into first WTA Tour final

Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus, the No 7 seed, advanced to her first WTA Tour final when she beat Daria Saville 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the Hamburg Open at Am Rothenbaum on Friday.

Rus, ranked No 60, will face the winner of the match between German wildcard Noma Noha Akugue and Russian Diana Shnaider next. The win means the 32-year-old will climb to a new career-high ranking on Monday, inside the world’s top 50.

The Dutchwoman defeated Russian Maria Timofeeva (6-2, 4-6, 6-1), Argentinian Nadia Podoroska (6-3, 3-6, 7-5) and German Eva Lys (6-2, 6-2) earlier in the tournament.

In the previous rounds of the Hamburg tournament, Saville, ranked No 225, won against Italian Jasmine Paolini, the No 4 seed (6-0, 7-6 (3)), German Tamara Korpatsch (7-6 (6), 6-2) and German wildcard Jule Niemeier (6-3, 6-2).

Hamburg WTA 250, other semi-final result (Am Rothenbaum, clay, EUR 225.480):

• Noma Noha Akugue vs. Diana Shnaider