Madison Keys shrugged off an injury scare to progress to her second Eastbourne final by upsetting fellow American Coco Gauff with a straight-sets win at the Rothesay International.
The 2014 champion, who suffered a nasty slip in the middle of the second set, triumphed 6-3 6-3 against the world number seven at a blustery Devonshire Park.
Former USA Open runner-up Keys had earlier on Friday been drawn to face British wildcard Sonay Kartal in the first round of Wimbledon.
“I’ve had a little bit of a not great year so far, so being able to make a final here where I won my first title is amazing,” the 28-year-old world number 25 said in her on-court interview.
“It’s definitely 10 times more difficult when you have to play Coco and then you throw in hurricane winds on top of it.
“I’m very happy that I was able to have a not incredibly complicated match and get the win. I’m really looking forward to the final tomorrow.”
Gauff, who defeated doubles partner Jessica Pegula to reach the semi-final, looked poised to stage a comeback.
However, after breaking serve in the first game of the second set, the 19-year-old blew a 40-0 lead and then hit a remarkable three double faults in a row at advantage to allow her opponent to level at 2-2.
Unseeded Keys was left holding her hip following a painful fall in the next game but recovered sufficiently to progress in an hour and 21 minutes.
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