At 3-3 in the second set tiebreak and with Jelena Ostapenko a set to the good, a long cross-court rally ended as the Latvian sent her opponent scuttling to retrieve a backhand bludgeoned down the line.
Two powerful service points ensued from Ostapenko before a disoriented Ekaterina Alexandrova double-faulted to hand the match to the Latvian 6-2 7-6 (3).
Very shortly afterwards, the Russian trudged off, unable to muster a smile or wave.
Ostapenko, by contrast, was all smiles and understandably so. After four good wins this week in Adelaide – and on her second visit to a city she said she loves for having the Adelaide International so close to its city centre – she has form firmly on her side.
“Thank you for your support,” she told the crowd. “It was an amazing atmosphere”
“It was a tough match, she is a tough player, she served really big. I feel I am playing more aggressively and I was finding the chances and taking them.”
There was a good crowd once again for the afternoon match with the weather picture perfect as it has been all week. However, it was substantially hotter than previous days, 37 degrees when the match began just after 4pm.
The first service game, won to love as Ostapenko set the tone with hard -hitting for the baseline, win, error, win the rhythm, aggression to the fore always.
Alexandrova, ranked world No.21 to Ostapenko’s No.12, has good court movement but the Latvian dictated play throughout the 100-minute contest.
It would have been easy for Alexandrova, who led her opponent pre-match by 5-3 in their head-to-head encounters, to feel her spirit sapping away but she held firm to lead 5-3 in the second set with some forceful play of her own.
Several times Alexandrova could be seen staring at the spot where the ball has been bashed past her by Ostapenko, who showed no sign of the leg injury that caused her to miss her doubles match on Thursday.
The players would not have known that Jessica Pegula had withdrawn, seeing Daria Kasakina advance into Saturday’s final.
For world No.15 Kasatkina, there’s a chance to compete for a seventh WTA singles title.
The 26-year-old Ostapenko could also lift a seventh trophy should she overcome Kasatkina in the championship match at The Drive.