Guangzhou Open: Dolehide beats Bronzetti in epic to reach second WTA final

American qualifier Caroline Dolehide reached the final of the Guangzhou Open in remarkable style by edging out Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9) at the Nansha International Tennis Center.

The Italian squandered four match points in a nail-biting deciding set tiebreak before Dolehide finally converted on her third to clinch a huge win after a topsy-turvy semi-final encounter.

In an epic contest, both players appeared to be running on reserve energy by the end, as the momentum of the match swung drastically from one player to the other.

Having fought back from a set and a break down to level the scores at one set all, Bronzetti found herself 5-3 down as Dolehide served for the match.

But the Italian reeled off three games in a row before being broken as she served for the match at 6-5.

A tense tiebreak saw a tight Bronzetti squander a 6-3 lead, before the big-hitting American finally got over the line to secure passage into just her second WTA final.

Dolehide, ranked No 101, will face Serb Olga Danilovic in the showpiece on Sunday.

In the previous rounds of the Guangzhou tournament, the American beat Russian lucky loser Elena Pridankina (6-2, 6-1), second seed Marie Bouzkova (6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (6)) and Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, the No 7 seed (6-4, 4-6, 6-0).

Bronzetti, ranked No 84, won against Armenian Elina Avanesyan, the No 4 seed (6-1, 6-4), Romanian Jaqueline Cristian (7-6 (5), 6-4) and Chinese Xiyu Wang (6-4, 6-1) earlier in the tournament.

Guangzhou WTA 250, other semi-final result (Nansha International Tennis Center, hard, USD 267.082):

• Olga Danilovic beat Katerina Siniakova (1): 4-6, 6-4, 4-3 ret.