No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka saved a set point, then raced away to a 7-6(6), 6-0 victory against Shelby Rogers in 1 hour and 35 minutes to reach the Libéma Open final. She will meet No.7 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who dominated No.6 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 16 minutes.

Sabalenka will contest her 17th Hologic WTA Tour final, second of 2022 following Stuttgart in April, and second on grass following Eastbourne 2018. Alexandrova, who defeated Kudermetova for the first time in three attempts, will play her fourth tour-level title match, first since Moscow 2021 and first on grass.

Sabalenka and Alexandrova have split four previous meetings with two wins apiece. Alexandrova won the most recent encounter 6-3, 6-4 in the 2021 Moscow quarterfinals, and Sunday's final will be their first clash on grass.

How Sabalenka overcame Rogers: Rogers was bidding for her third career final and first since Rio de Janeiro 2016, and pushed Sabalenka all the way in the opening act. The No.42-ranked American played a tactically astute set, deploying slice and net approaches to excellent effect. Opting for placement over power, she kept her unforced error count down to five while finding 12 winners.

Highlights: Sabalenka d. Rogers

Rogers came from 4-2 down to serve for the set at 6-5 -- but at 30-30, consecutive rare mistakes allowed Sabalenka to force the tiebreak. The World No.6 found her best tennis just when she needed it, saving a set point by conjuring a slice winner off an awkward net cord, then hammering a forehand to convert her own first set point.

From there, Sabalenka rolled, breaking Rogers three times in the second set. The 24-year-old finished with 22 winners and 16 unforced errors in total. Rogers, though, managed to come up with the shot of the match, an absurd reflexed dropshot winner in the third game of the second set.

"Was a great match out there, she pushed me a lot and she played so well in the first set especially," said Sabalenka afterwards.

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ekaterina alexandrova
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How Alexandrova overcame Kudermetova: No.30-ranked Alexandrova turned in one of the cleanest performances of her career to dispatch Kudermetova. Her serve was formidable -- the 27-year-old dropped just five points behind her first delivery, and she saved three of the four break points she faced.

Alexandrova backed her serve up with a series of spectacularly angled forehands and was coolly efficient in the majority of important moments, converting five of the six break points she brought up on Kudermetova's serve.

Kudermetova was coming off the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career at Roland Garros and bidding to reach her fourth final of 2022, but racked up 20 unforced errors to only six winners. Alexandrova finished with 21 winners and 14 unforced errors.

"It always feels great to be in a final, especially here in the first tournament on grass," said Alexandrova. "I didn't expect to be in the final in the first few matches for sure, because I couldn't feel the surface and everything was flying so far away from the court, but I'm glad I could find my game here."

's-Hertogenbosch: Alexandrova ousts Kudermetova, makes 4th career final