Intro:

German third seed Andrea Petkovic reached the final of the Diamond Games in Antwerp on Saturday (14 February) after beating Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic in two tie-break sets.

Script:

Andrea Petkovic has qualified for the final of the Diamond Games in Antwerp, after beating Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 7-6 (2) 7-6 (6) on Saturday.

The German seed asserted her dominance from the beginning, firing ahead in the opening set.

However, the unseeded Czech proved to be a worthy opponent, and slowly narrowed the points gap before eventually taking things into a tiebreak.

But the world number 12 regained her composure, and won her set point after the Czech's backhand went wide.

The intense game took two hours and 25 minutes with no clear winner in sight. Zahlavova Strycova displayed fierce determination and did not back down, clawing back the deficit with another ferocious forehand down the line.

And another tiebreak was needed to settle things once and for all. But despite the Czech's perseverance, it was yet another wide backhand that caused her downfall, and Petkovic claimed the match point.

The Bosnian-born Petkovic will now take on Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro in the final on Sunday.