Elina Svitolina stuns Coco Gauff to set up Dubai final against Jessica Pegula

Pegula secured her spot in the final earlier, overcoming a poor start and an early break in the second set to defeat fellow American Amanda Anisimova 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Gauff, 21, had the chance to set up an all-American final on Saturday, but Svitolina triumphed 6-4, 6-7 (13-15), 6-4 in a marathon three-hour-and-three-minute match.

The 31-year-old Svitolina squandered four match points in the second-set tie-break but held on to claim the decider. This marks her first return to the Dubai final since winning consecutive titles there in 2017 and 2018.

"I was playing like there is no tomorrow, just trying to put all the effort in," she said.

After reaching the semi-finals stage before tasting defeat, both Gauff and Anisimova will take home 390 ranking points for the tournament.

Had Anisimova beaten Pegula, she would have moved above her compatriot and up to fifth in the WTA Rankings. Instead, she is projected to rise to 6,053 points and remain in sixth place.

Meanwhile, Gauff will remain as the world No 4 in the WTA Rankings, with her points tally set to increase to 6,803 points.

The winner of tomorrow's final between Pegula and Svitolina will earn 1,000 points, with 650 points awarded to the runner-up.

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