Kasatkina, Jabeur pull double duty in setting Birmingham final clash
In the semifinals, Daria Kasatkina eased past CoCo Vandeweghe and Ons Jabeur defeated Heather Watson at the Viking Classic Saturday.
MATCH POINT: Kasatkina stops Vandeweghe in semifinals
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Ons Jabeur and Daria Kasatkina pulled double duty to reach the final at the Viking Classic, winning twice on Saturday after a washout the day before.
Jabeur, from Tunisia, eliminated home favorite Heather Watson, who earlier in the day became the first British woman since 1992 to reach the semifinals on Birmingham's grass. Jabeur beat Watson 6-3, 6-3 a few hours after dispatching Anastasia Potapova of Russia 6-4, 6-0.
In the final, second-seeded Jabeur will face fourth-seeded Daria Kasatkina of Russia.
Kasatkina overcame Czech qualifier Thereza Martincova in a three-set quarterfinal and defeated CoCo Vandeweghe of the United States 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals.
"It was a tough two days — waiting yesterday was tough — and I am very happy to be in a grass-court final for the first time," Kasatkina said.
The Russian will be going for her third WTA title this year. Kasatkina won both previous contests against Jabeur, but they were not on grass.
The four quarterfinals were rained out Friday.
Watson advanced to the semifinals by upsetting third-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-4, 6-2. The last British woman to reach the semifinals was Jo Durie in 1992.
Former top-10 player Vandeweghe reached the last four by defeating eighth-seeded Czech player Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-4.