Birmingham (England), June 15: World number four Magdalena Maleeva stared into the abyss then pulled back to book her place in today's final of the WTA grasscourt tournament here yesterday.
The experienced Bulgarian, seeded three, overcame 20-year-old Eleni Daniilidou 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in an absorbing semi-final lasting two hours and 21 minutes.
The match was full of incident, with Daniilidou needing treatment midway through the deciding set after twisting her left knee, and contained no fewer than 15 breaks of serve.
Daniilidou, who was involved in a three-hour marathon quarter-final with Thai player Tamarine Tanasugarn on Friday, had three opportunities to clinch the point which would have given her a 5-3 lead in the final set.
But she appeared to lose concentration after disputing a line call in the crucial eighth game and was broken to love in her next service game, allowing Maleeva to serve out for victory.



It will be the 20th final of the Bulgarian's career and her first appearance in the Birmingham showpiece at the third attempt.



Maleeva will play either Shinobu Asagoe of Japan or Russian starlet Maria Sharapova in the final.


Bureau Report