Defending champion Alison Van Uytvanck was forced to save five match points as she defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) in the semifinals of Hungarian Ladies Open on Saturday.
Twenty-four hours after she lost the opening set of her quarterfinal against Kateryna Kozlova, the No. 1 seed was again made to work as Alexandrova took the first set in just 31 minutes.
Van Uytvanck was then broken in her opening service game of the second set, but made a swift response as she won five of the next six games to take control, eventually clinching the set on serve to tie the match.
The players then traded breaks in the third-set decider before No. 5 seed Alexandrova had the opportunity to serve for the match at 5-4, but Van Uytvanck rallied back and converted her second break point to get the match back on serve.
The drama didn't end there, as Alexandrova quickly set up two match points at 15-40 in the 10th game of the set. Van Uytvanck denied Alexandrova once again to bring up deuce, but then had to save a third match point before eventually holding her serve on the 15th point of the game.
Both players went on to hold serve and set up the third-set tiebreak. Alexandrova had established a 4-2 lead at the changeover before setting up an additional two match points at 6-4, but Van Uytvanck won the next three points to survive and set up a match point of her own.
This time it was Alexandrova's turn to deny her opponent, but Van Uytvanck won the next two points, converting match point on her second opportunity, to clinch the match in two hours and 17 minutes and advance to Sunday's final.
The Belgian will aim to win her second Budapest title in as many years against No. 8 seed Marketa Vondrousova after she defeated Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-2 in the other, more straightforward, semifinal.