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Emma Navarro Emma Navarro

Emma Navarro will face qualifier Emiliana Arango in her second WTA Tour-level final, after overcoming Elina Avanesyan at the Merida Open on Saturday. (More Tennis News)

Top seed Navarro claimed a 6-3 6-3 semi-final win over Armenian Avanesyan, getting the only break of the opener then edging a topsy-turvy second set in which neither player served with confidence.

Of six breaks in that second set, four went Navarro's way including in a four-deuce final game, the American finally converting her fourth match point with a sizzling forehand from the baseline.

The Spaniard completed the thrilling turnaround in style, saving three of the four break points he faced to hand Team Europe their first win at the tournament since 2021.

Speaking in her courtside interview after the win, Navarro said: "I played the tennis that I love to play, where there's a lot of variation, scrapping points out and running a bit, definitely being aggressive when there's opportunities to. That’s what I love about playing."

Her opponent in the showpiece match of the event will be Colombia's Arango, who beat fellow qualifier Daria Saville 6-3 4-6 6-2 in two hours and 52 minutes.

After coming through that gruelling contest,66br Arango said: "I think we both tried to keep adjusting our games, to see which way we could get a bit of an edge.

"I think it was a very entertaining match, I had a lot of fun playing it. It has been quite a journey. 

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"I've had a few long matches, there's been a lot of things that have happened – it feels like it's been longer than a week, to be honest. But it's been a really fun week."

Throwing in a trick shot#MeridaOpenAKRON pic.twitter.com/On0KSB4LPe

— wta (@WTA)March 2, 2025

Data Debrief: David versus Goliath

On paper at least, Navarro is the heavy favourite to win Sunday's final. Playing her first WTA tournament as the top seed, she is yet to drop a single set.

Arango, meanwhile, is a first-time Tour-level finalist and her reward will be a debut in the WTA's top 100 next week.

It will be just Arango's second meeting with a top-10 opponentcfbet777, after she lost to Maria Sakkari in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Guadalajara Open.