Emma Raducanu is through to her first final since winning the 2021 US Open after beating Oleksandra Oliynykova in a "brutal" three-set semi-final at the Transylvania Open.
The British No 1, playing in the fifth tour-level semi-final of her career, won the first set 7-5 before her Ukrainian opponent took the second set 6-3.
But Raducanu recovered from losing her serve early in the deciding third to win four of the next five games to take the set 6-3 and secure a place in Saturday's showpiece at the WTA 250 event in Cluj, Romania, where she is the No 1 seed.
Attempting to close out the match at the first attempt on the Oliynykova serve when 5-2 ahead in the third, Raducanu squandered three match points before her opponent then took a 15-40 lead on the Briton's serve.
But Raducanu held her nerve to ultimately hold her serve and take the game and match, with two beautifully-executed drop shots helping make the difference.
She will play Romania's own Sorana Cirstea, the third seed, in Saturday's final, from 2.30pm live on Your Site Tennis.
"It was a brutal match," said Raducanu of the near three-hour contest against Oliynykova.
"Ole, I mean, what a competitor. She made so many balls, she made so many balls tricky and when you think you're ahead in the point, she turns it around with some really awkward shots.
"But credit to her, she competed when I was up in that second and I'm just most proud of how I fought and I competed myself and came back in that third set."
Raducanu had a physio time out in the first set to allow attention to her right shoulder and said: "The balls here get really fluffy and kind of shredded up by the court. So it's just heavier as the balls get older, but pretty lively when the balls are new.
"I'm not used to playing four matches in a row and back to back. So for me, that's an incredible thing and it just comes with the territory, I guess. But I haven't really been in this position very often. So it's just a bit of wear and tear that comes with back to back in the format of tennis."
Just a week after splitting with her latest coach, Francis Roig - which came hot on the heels of a second-round exit at the Australian Open - Raducanu has won four matches in the space of five days in Cluj, dropping only one set.
On finally reaching her first final since winning the US Open as an 18-year-old qualifier, Raducanu admitted: "It's a really emotional feeling.
"I haven't been in the final for five years now so it's an amazing achievement.
"Just really grateful for what I've put out this week and for Alexis [Canter], who's here with me and also for the great work that I've been doing in the past six months, the past year.
"It's all coming together. So, yeah, I'm just really proud.
"My only focus now is to try and recover from that marathon.
"I think a lot of it is going to be about recovering and being in the best shape possible physically."
Speaking before home favourite Cirstea had breezed through her semi-final against Daria Snigur 6-0, 6-3, Raducanu added: "Sarana being a Romanian, it would be an incredible thing for the tournament [for her to be in the final]."
British No 2 Katie Boulter reached the fifth final of her career in the Ostrava Open as she produced another quality performance, beating the American Katie Volynets 6-1 6-3 in her third consecutive straight sets victory.
Boulter will play Tamara Korpatsch, the world No 124, in Saturday' final from 3pm.
And with Raducanu also in action in a final in Romania on Saturday, it means that for the first time two British women will feature in different WTA finals on the same day.
Boulter raced out to a one-set lead after just over half an hour, but even a much-improved second set showing from Volynets could not stop the in-form Brit from progressing with ease.
"I'm never satisfied but obviously really pleased with today," said Boulter after the game. "She really stepped up in the second set - I tried to match it as much as I could, keep trusting myself no matter what and it paid off in the end.
"The breaks could have easily shifted the momentum and but I didn't allow that to happen."
Boulter was in high spirits, even wishing her coach Michael Joyce a happy birthday and promising him a coveted gift.
"It's been a great week for me - It's Micky [Joyce's] birthday tomorrow and I'm going to try and get him a present - a trophy!
"We're going to leave it all on the line."
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