World number five Jessica Pegula clinched a berth in her second WTA final of the year with a straight-sets victory over Victoria Azarenka at the Guadalajara Open on a rainy Saturday.
Pegula defeated the former world number one Belarussian 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in one hour and 29 minutes, having fought back from a 4-1 first-set deficit.
The American will need to wait until Sunday to learn her opponent, with rain forcing Maria Sakkari and Marie Bouzkova's semi-final to be suspended and eventually postponed with the Greek leading 7-5.
Pegula's triumph was her 40th win of the season, becoming the 10th American woman to achieve that feat.
The victory also made it four successive Grand Slam winners that Pegula has overcome to reach the final in Guadalajara, knocking off Sloane Stephens, Bianca Andreescu and Elena Rybakina along with Azarenka.
Pegula converted three of eight break points, while Azarenka took her only break point of the match to help her open up the 4-1 first-set lead.
The American proved better on her second serve, while she managed to win 15 of 26 points on Azarenka's second serve.
Sakkari and Bouzkova's semi-final will resume at 1pm local time on Sunday, with the fourth seed leading 7-5 after an epic first set that lasted 84 minutes.
The Greek showed off her grit after fluffing an early 3-1 lead by taking her eighth set point, winning a 22-shot rally - the longest of the first set - to break Bouzkova in the 12th game.
The final is due to commence no earlier than 6pm local time on Sunday, meaning it will be a physical test for the victor.
Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win
Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie.
The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.
And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.
Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.
Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.
The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.
Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.
Nadal unsure of future involvements after Laver Cup withdrawal
Rafael Nadal says he cannot commit himself to future tournaments after his withdrawal from the Laver Cup.
Nadal shared news on Thursday that he would not make an appearance at the annual event in Berlin, stating that it would not be in the best interests of Team Europe if he were to participate.
The Spaniard was last in action playing doubles at the Paris Olympics with Carlos Alcaraz, and while he says he is in a good space mentally, he was not able to confirm when he would next make a professional appearance on a tennis court.
He said: "Mentally, I’m good, no problems. I'm at home enjoying other things, training as much as I can every day.
"No drama, obviously these are decisions [the Laver Cup withdrawal] that are being made, and this was a possibility - it's been a while without competing. There will be someone else who can do better.
"Right now I’m not in a position to put myself down for anything.
"I said [I would play] until the Olympics and then we would see, and I'm in that period of rest."
Nadal has endured a difficult 2024 so far, playing just 21 competitive singles matches with a record of 13-8.
He has only one grand slam victory to his name this year, beating Jack Draper in the Australian Open, but he lost in the first round of the French Open to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz sends Spain into Davis Cup last eight
Carlos Alcaraz has led Spain to the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup Finals after a straight-sets win over Ugo Humbert.
The 21-year-old needed just one hour and 21 minutes to cruise through with a 6-3 6-3 victory, hitting 21 winners to his opponent's 14 as he backed up Roberto Bautista's win earlier on.
Bautista had to come from behind to edge past Arthur Fils, beating him 2-6 7-5 6-3, and converting 40% of his break points, bettering the Frenchman's 27%.
Spain are through in Group B, but elsewhere in Group D, US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper's return was unable to inspire Great Britain to victory.
Dan Evans was beaten by Tomas Martin Etcheverry earlier on Friday before Draper's first match since New York ended in a straight-sets 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 defeat to Francisco Cerundolo.
Despite making fewer unforced errors than the Argentinian (23 to 39), the British number one struggled to find an edge, though Evans and Neal Skupski claimed a consolation win in the doubles to make it 2-1.
They sit second in the group, missing the chance to qualify for the last eight, and now needing a win against Canada, who have been in fine form so far.
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