No.1 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia will face first-time WTA singles finalist McCartney Kessler in the Tennis in the Land final in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday.
Haddad Maia of Brazil overcame No.3 seed Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in their semifinal showdown. Haddad Maia, who is top-seeded at a WTA event for the first time, is into her first final of the year. She is seeking her fourth career WTA singles title.
Cleveland: Scores | Order of Play | Draws
Comeback queen Siniakova had won all three of her previous matches this week from a set down. The Czech found herself a set away from pulling off the feat one more time on Friday night.
However, Haddad Maia prevented Siniakova from executing another turnaround, easing through the third set and completing the match after 2 hours and 11 minutes of action. Haddad Maia now has a narrow 2-1 lead in her head-to-head against Siniakova.
Haddad Maia will now have her first career meeting with Kessler, the newest member of the Top 100 in the PIF WTA Singles Rankings. Kessler reached her maiden tour-level final with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 upset of No.5 seed Anastasia Potapova.
"I’m really happy with my performance today," Kessler said after her win. "The first set didn’t go exactly how I wanted, but I was able to make the right adjustments and get through it at the end."
Kessler started this year ranked No.231, and the former University of Florida Gator has had a breakthrough season in 2024. The American won her first tour-level match at this year's Australian Open, and she has added four more tour-level wins in Cleveland.
The 25-year-old Kessler cracked the Top 100 for the first time just two weeks ago, and she now finds herself edging closer to the Top 75 after her success this week.
In Friday's match, Potapova needed nine break points before moving ahead 2-0 in the first set, but she held on for the one-set lead from there. However, Kessler turned the match around in the second set, where she equaled Potapova in winners and had 10 fewer unforced errors.
The third set hinged on another tight game, where Kessler converted her sixth break point at 4-3 to take control. Kessler easily served out the match, extending her career-best performance on tour.
