Jamie Hampton earns first WTA finals appearance

EASTBOURNE, England, June 21 (UPI) -- Qualifier Jamie Hampton and Elena Vesnina gained the finals of the Aegon International tennis tournament in England, one after an upset, the other in a romp.

Hampton reached her first WTA finals appearance Friday with a 6-7 (8-10), 7-5, 6-3 upset of fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki in a match that took 2 hours, 44 minutes. Vesnina followed with a 6-2, 6-0 rout of Yanina Wickmayer in 51 minutes.

Hampton broke Wozniacki eight times, including four in the second set when she evened the match. Her two third-set breaks offset her one loss of serve in the set and advanced her to the finals after the long match.

Vesnina won three-quarters of the points on serve -- losing 10 points over seven games and not facing a break point. She also cashed in five of her six break opportunities.

Vesnina is 1-6 in WTA title matches, breaking through with a win in January in Hobart, Australia, after losing the first six times she reached finals.

The title match Saturday will be the first career meeting between Hampton and Vesnina.