World number one Ashleigh Barty celebrated her 25th birthday by fighting back to beat Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals of the WTA clay-court tournament in Stuttgart on Saturday.
Despite losing the first set in just a over half an hour, Barty hit back to seal a 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over the Ukrainian fourth seed.
The Australian will meet either second-seed Simona Halep or Aryna Sabalenka in Sunday’s final.
“It’s important to believe. Regardless of the score, I always try and find the right way,” said Barty, who also lost the opening set of Friday’s quarter-final against Karolina Pliskova.
“She is one of the best competitors on the tour, so I knew it would be a very hard fought match and the margins would decide it,” Barty added before being presented with a bouquet of flowers with “Happy Birthday” played over the arena’s sound system.