REIGNING champion Kiki Bertens will take on rising star, Elena Rybakina in the final of St Petersburg Ladies Trophy after the pair won their respective semi-finals.

Rybakina made her way through to her third final of the year with a come-from-behind 3-6 7-5 6-1 victory over sixth seed, Maria Sakkari. Just a day after Sakkari toppled number one seed, Belinda Bencic in a come-from-behind win, it was her turn to be on the receiving end as the 20-year-old Kazakhstani player fought back from a set down to win the second set in a tight one, then run away with the contest. Rybakina won eight of the last nine games of the match to build some great momentum heading into the St Petersburg final. In an hour and 54 minutes, Rybakina broke seven times to five and had a more successful serve with 63.8 and 51.7 per cent success rate on her first and second serve points. She also made the most of Sakkari’s second serve, recording an impressive 62.9 per cent winning ratio. Rybakina heads into the St Petersburg final having come runner-up in Shenzhen before winning in Hobart a week later last month.

In the later match, Bertens had to battle hard to overcome the in-form Ekaterina Alexandrova, winning 6-1 4-6 6-1 in an hour and 41 minutes. As impressive as the Russian has been this year, she was no match for the Dutchwoman when it counted as Bertens dominated the serving statistics. Running with an efficiency of 66.7 per cent on her first serve, she only dropped 11 points off her first serve and 24 in total for the match. Breaking six times and saving five of seven break point opportunities from her opponent, Bertens was simply sensational, putting up seven aces and winning 69.4 per cent of her second return points. She will head into the final hoping to defend her points from last year, but will not underestimate the young Rybakina who has really come of age in the past 12 months.

SEMI-FINALS RESULTS:

[2] Kiki Bertens (NED) defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova (RUS) 6-1 4-6 6-1
[8] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) defeated [6] Maria Sakkari (GRE) 3-6 7-5 6-1