Germany's Tatjana Maria celebrates following her semifinal match against Madison Keys of the U.S. on day six of the HSBC Championships at The Queen's Club, London. AFP
Mother of two Maria has enjoyed a memorable run in the first women's tournament at Queen's for 52 years.
The 37-year-old reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2022, but was forced to qualify for Queen's after dropping to 86th in the WTA rankings.
Maria said she was "still living this dream" after shocking former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) in the quarter-finals on Friday.
The German can complete her fairytale week against Chinese top seed Zheng Qinwen Zheng or American world number 15 Amanda Anisimova in Sunday's final.
Maria has never been past the second round of any Grand Slam except Wimbledon, but once again she is proving a formidable force on the grass courts.
Keys' exit was a blow to her preparations for Wimbledon, which gets underway across London at the All England Club on June 30.
The 30-year-old American reached the quarter-finals of the recent French Open after securing her maiden Grand Slam crown in Melbourne in January.
Keys has failed to get beyond the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in her 10 visits.
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