LOS ANGELES: Britain's Katie Boulter punched her ticket to the WTA final in San Diego yesterday with a dominant 6-3, 6-1 victory over third-seeded American Emma Navarro.
Boulter, ranked 49th in the world, will face either top-seeded American Jessica Pegula or sixth-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in today's title match.
Boulter, whose week in Southern California has included an upset of second-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia, was in control from the outset against 26th-ranked Navarro, who won her first WTA title in January at Hobart
Boulter broke twice to pocket the first set. She was up 6-3, 1-0 when a sudden shower briefly halted play.
The short stoppage didn't help Navarro, who surrendered a break when they resumed as Boulter took a 3-0 lead in the set.
Boulter's first hiccup came in the fifth game, but she saved two break points with thumping serves and held for 4-1.
She polished off the victory with a love game, punctuated by a booming overhead on match point.
Boulter, who won her only title to date at Nottingham last year, is through to the biggest final of her career in the 500 level event.
In yesterday's other semi-final, fifth-ranked Pegula was trying to extend her perfect record against world number 34 Kostyuk to 3-0. The most recent of her two prior victories over the Ukrainian came at the 2023 Australian Open.
Pegula, chasing a fifth tour WTA title, is in her first semi-final of 2024. She's playing her first tournament since the Australian Open after withdrawing from Doha and Dubai with a neck injury.
Kostyuk is seeking a second WTA tour title to go with the one she earned in Austin last year. - AFP