Bianca Andreescu needed four match points to advance past world No. 6 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the semifinals of the 2019 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Friday.
Andreescu will face Angelique Kerber in Sunday's final.
Andreescu followed up her 52-minute domination of Garbine Muguruza with her most tightly contested match of the tournament, which lasted 2 hours,12 minutes. The last time she played in a third set was in the first round of the tournament March 6.
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The Mississauga, Ont., resident took the first set by winning six consecutive games after falling behind 3-0.
After getting dominated in the second set, 60th-ranked Andreescu jumped out to a 3–0 lead in the third but then dropped the next three games. She had to fight off a calf cramp late in the set but won three of the final four games to secure the victory. Andreescu even came back from a 40–0 deficit to hold serve and push her lead to 5–3.
The 18-year-old won just two more points than her Ukrainian counterpart over the entire match (95-93). Svitolina reached break point 19 times but Andreescu held serve on 13 of them while breaking Svitolina's serve six times in 12 chances.
BIANCA DOES IT!
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) March 16, 2019
In the toughest moments, champions rise to the occasion. @Bandreescu_ does just that, defeating Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 to reach the #BNPParibasOpen final.
Simply incredible. #BiancaRising pic.twitter.com/DUo7jnBZQz
Andreescu will play in the second final of her career. Her first came Jan. 6 at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. She is the youngest woman to reach the final of this event since Serena Williams won the tournament in 1999 when she was 17.