Comeback queen Bencic stuns champion to reach Dubai final

DUBAI: Belinda Bencic made another late winning charge over a Top 10 opponent on Friday to set up a Dubai Championships final against Petra Kvitova.

The 45th-ranked Swiss, who once stood seventh in the rankings before a run of back and wrist injuries, came from 5-3 down in the final set to end the 12-match Dubai win streak of defending two-time champion Elina Svitolina 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3).

Bencic lost to Kvitova in the Australian Open third round in January -- her third defeat in three meetings with the Czech -- but said she has great respect for her opponent.

"I was supporting her after I lost, she really deserved it," Bencic said of the eventual finalist in Melbourne.

It has been a remarkable week for Bencic who beat number eight Aryna Sabalenka in the third round, where she saved six match points, and then world number two Simona Halep in the quarter-finals.

Second seed Kvitova booked her third final in two months winning a marathon over Hsieh Su-wei 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The double Wimbledon winner already owns a title from Sydney last month and lost to Naomi Osaka in the Australian Open final.

Kvitova won in Dubai in 2013 and is playing the event for the first time in three years while 21-year-old Bencic has reached her first final since October in Luxembourg. - AFP