Cornet to face Muguruza for place in Brisbane final

Garbine Muguruza will take on unseeded Alize Cornet for a spot in the Brisbane International final after winning her quarter-final against Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

The Spanish world No.7 took nearly two hours on Thursday to dispense of veteran Kuznetsova, winning 7-5 6-4 on Pat Rafter Arena, to advance to the final four.

Down 1-4 at one stage in the first set, Muguruza also failed to convert two set points at 4-5, but recovered strongly to qualify for her first WTA final since last year’s French Open.

Kuznetsova slammed down five aces to one but double-faulted five times and struggled with a first serve at 44 per cent, compared to Muguruza’s 70 per cent.

Cornet earlier beat No.2 seed Dominika Cibulkova 6-3 7-5, claiming her second seeded scalp of the tournament.

The 26-year-old – best known for beating Serena Williams three times in 2014 – also ousted seventh seed Elena Vesnina in the first round.

World No.41 Cornet was up 5-2 at one stage in the second set but was repeatedly thwarted by Slovakian Cibulkova, yet she needed only one match point to clinch victory.

“I’m very proud, very happy,” Cornet said.

“Dominika is always very tough to beat. She’s fighting till the end. When she came back to five-all in the second set, I was not very confident, but I really tried to stay calm and to think about the present moment.”

The remaining quarter-finals – world No.1 Angelique Kerber’s clash with Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova’s meeting with Roberta Vinci – will be completed later on Thursday.