Rising star Gadecki booked a place in her first Tour decider with a straight-sets win over fellow 22-year-old right-hander Camila Osorio, 24 hours after beating Martina Trevisan to reach her first WTA semi.
Gadecki, who is ranked No.152, needed just 79 minutes to beat the Colombian and could potentially break into the world's top 60 with victory on Monday (AEST).
✨ From QUALIES to FINALS ✨— wta (@WTA) Olivia Gadecki punches her ticket into the Guadalajara finals after she d. Osorio 6-2 6-3!#GDLOpenAKRONxSantander pic.twitter.com/fLxfksiNKPSeptember 15, 2024
The Gold Coast-born star will face fifth-seeded Pole Magdalena Frech after her 7-6 7-5 triumph over fourth seed Caroline Garcia of France in the second semi-final.
Victory continues a remarkable run by Gadecki on the hard courts in Mexico. The qualifier has defeated five consecutive higher-ranked opponents, including world No.11 Danielle Collins and 2017 US Open champion and former world No.3 Sloane Stephens, and has only lost a single set along the way.
Gadecki becomes the first Aussie to reach a WTA 500 singles final since Barty did so at the 2022 Adelaide International, where she beat Kazakh Elena Rybakina to lift the trophy.
She is now on the verge of becoming Australia's top-ranked female player, poised to rise into the world's top 100 above Daria Saville, who is sidelined with a foot injury.
It also means Gadecki is likely to gain direct entry into a major for the first time in January at the Australian Open.
After her victory, Gadecki said she was thrilled with the way the tournament has gone and she was looking forward to the final.
"I'm really happy with the way I played today and the way I carried myself ... and thrilled to be in the final,'' she said.
it's all in the touch 🤌— wta (@WTA) Olivia Gadecki | #GDLOpenAKRONxSantander pic.twitter.com/3zwnZs97B3September 14, 2024
"It would be very exciting to be the next Australian to win a (WTA 500) title after Ash.
"I'm just going to (try to) take it like any other match, I'm going to enjoy the moment and we'll just see what happens.
"Being in the top 100 has been a massive goal of mine since I was very young, and to now be in that range is incredible.''
In the first clash between the two, Gadecki broke Osorio in the sixth and eighth games of the opening set.
The Queenslander did so again to go up 2-0 in the second and was leading 4-2 before she lost her only service game of the contest.
But she responded immediately by breaking for a fourth time, before serving it out.
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