France's Alize Cornet beat a despondent Serena Williams 6-4 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Dubai Tennis Championships in what the world number 26 described as the biggest win of her career.
Cornet's heroics earning her a final appearance against Venus Williams, Serena's older sister, who earlier trounced Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-3 6-2 under a fading desert sun.
Few in the Aviation Stadium crowd would have given Cornet, who had lost her previous three meetings against Serena, much chance of denying the Williams sisters a first tour final against each other since 2009.
But the 24-year-old Frenchwoman was unbowed as she slugged it out from the baseline against the world number one.