Karolina Pliskova reached the final in Eastbourne with a three-set, come-from-behind victory over Johanna Konta.
Both players hold serve throughout set, tiebreaker filled with mini-breaks, Konta emerges with lead
In what was expected to be a close match, both players showcased their best weapon: their serve. Neither player faced a break point in each of their six service games while the returner won a combined ten points in the 12 service games total, four love games thrown in for good measure. The inevitable tiebreak took a twist: the server losing almost half of the points, Pliskova the first to lose serve.
Konta took that 2-0 lead and stretched it to 4-1, her own serve imperious so far. She added another minibreak for good measure, something she would turn out to need, a 5-2 lead gone in the blink of an eye, Pliskova rallying to level proceedings at five. She gave back one final crucial minibreak, Konta taking her chance at the first time of offering, winning the set 7-6 (7-5).
Pliskova grabs first break of the match, makes it stand up to force a third set
If the first set was routine, the second set was anything but as each player struggled to hold serve. After three more routine service games, the first break was achieved, Pliskova grabbing it for a 3-1 lead. With her strong serve, the set looked to be over, but Konta dug in and the Eastbourne native took a 0-40 lead on Pliskova's serve, the Czech doing well to save all three and hold for 4-1.
Back to the script of serving domination, the lead was 5-3 when Pliskova toed the line to serve out the set. Again, Konta took a lead, again Pliskova saved it, this one from 15-40 down. She took the last four points and with it, the set 6-3 to square the match at a set all.
Pliskova races out to double break lead, hangs on to advance to final
Now with the momentum, Pliskova broke straightaway and claimed the early lead. After a quick hold, the turning point came in the next game, Pliskova adding a second break, winning a marathon 17 point game and building an unassailable 3-0 lead.
Despite giving one break back, Pliskova cruised towards the final and at 5-3 ahead, she closed the match in style, breaking Konta one more time to reach her second grass final of the season, having won the title in Nottingham.
Cibulkova awaits in final
Pliskova will meet Dominika Cibulkova in Saturday's final. Cibulkova breezed past Monica Puig in the other semifinal with the loss of just three games. Cibulkova won their only prior meeting two years ago in Kuala Lumpur.