BUCHAREST, Romania - Unranked Patricia Maria Tig's Cinderella story continued on Saturday at the BRD Bucharest Open.

The 24-year-old Tig defeated her third seeded player of the week, No.6 seed Laura Siegemund, to reach her second career WTA final, 6-3, 6-1.

After having not played a WTA event in over 18 months following a litany of injuries and the birth of her daughter, which combined to keep her out of porfessional tennis for the entirety of 2018, the former World No.83 was given a wildcard into qualifying by the tournament as she's currently without a WTA ranking after having returned to the ITF circuit in April.

She has responded with seven consecutive victories, and the loss of just one set in the main draw, to reach her first final in four years.

"It's very, very special to be in the final in Bucharest," an emotional Tig said as she shed a few tears on-court after the match.

"I'm really happy that I could win this match. I'm looking forward to the final tomorrow."

Later, she added: "It was a very emotional moment. I have not cried on court before. The joy was so big that somehow, it had to come out."

The Romanian also upset top seed and defending champion Anastasija Sevastova in the second round, and followed that up with a victory over No.8 seed Kristyna Pliskova in the quarterfinals.

Read more: New mom Tig dethrones Sevastova in Bucharest: 'I wanted this victory very badly'

Against Siegemund, Tig never lost serve, as she saved all eighth break points she faced and broke the German four times.

The Romanian never trailed across 87 minutes, as she saved one break point against her in each of her first two service games in the match, before she broke Siegemund to love in the six game of the opener.

Tig rose to every challenge from there, as she saved two break points in the last game of the opener before sealing a one-set lead, and ultimately ground down Siegemund's resistance by winning a key fourth game of the second set.

Immediately after breaking serve for a third time, Tig saved four break points to hold for 3-1, and sprinted through to the finish by winning 12 of the last 14 points. 


The Romanian never trailed across 87 minutes, as she saved one break point against her in each of her first two service games in the match, before she broke Siegemund to love in the six game of the opener.

Tig rose to every challenge from there, as she saved two break points in the last game of the opener before sealing a one-set lead, and ultimately ground down Siegemund's resistance by winning a key fourth game of the second set.

"I knew this was going to be a tough match," Tig told Romanian press after the match.

"Luckily, I was able to stay calm during the pressure moments and that is why it may look like it was easy.

Immediately after breaking serve for a third time, Tig saved four break points to hold for 3-1, and sprinted through to the finish by winning 12 of the last 14 points. 

On the strength of her run this week, the Romanian is set to return to the WTA list in a big way, and should she complete her magical week with a seventh win, she will return to the world's Top 250.

"I don't want to think too much about the ranking, I only want to play better. I want to take point by point and match by match. When I'm behind in a match, I want to find solutions to come back into it. That's my main goal now," Tig said.

"I am more mature now. I know life is not ending if I lose a match. I feel that motherhood helped me be better. To be more humble, more docile and more grateful for what I have."