Ellen Perez will get her chance to pick up some major silverware after the Shellharbour talent and her US partner Nicole Melichar-Martinez advanced to the doubles final at the WTA Finals in Cancun.
The No.8 seeds had to do it the hard way, holding off a strong challenge from reigning US Open champions, Canada's Garbiela Dabrowski and New Zealand's Erin Routliffe to prevail 6-1 6-7(1) [10-6] in their semi-final on Monday morning (AEDT).
Perez and Melichar-Martinez comfortably took the first set before jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, before their opponents surged to life with a late comeback. However, they held on to secure the win in just over 90 minutes.
"They did a good job of coming back," Perez told the Tennis Australia website.
"We knew that they were a team that could easily turn things around and hit their shots. I think we did a good job of not letting that tear us down."
The victory sets up the most important decider of Perez's career later today, as she becomes the first Australian to book a doubles final spot at the WTA Finals since Rennae Stubbs in 2008.
The 28-year-old and Melichar-Martinez will meet the winner of the other semi-final with Australian Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens (Belgium) taking on Germany's Laura Siegemund and Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
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Joshua Bartlett
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
A sporting fanatic who is keen to promote all codes in the Illawarra and abroad. Mercury's chief football reporter.
