Fourth-seeded Natasha Zvereva upset No. 1-seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (7-5), 6-3 Saturday in an Evert Cup semifinal.
Mary Joe Fernandez faced Naoko Sawamatsu in the other semifinal.Zvereva of the former Soviet republic of Belarus jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set but Sanchez Vicario, the world's top-ranked player, battled back to take a 4-3 lead.
Zvereva broke Sanchez Vicario's serve in the eighth game to tie it 4-4 and broke the Spaniard's serve again in the 12th game to win the set.
Winning the first game of the set, however, was the turning point, Zvereva said. Sanchez Vicario led 40-love in the game before Zvereva charged back.
"It was very important and at love-40 I still felt like I could win that game and still keep the faith in me and that is basically what happened," she said.
In the second set, Zvereva took a 4-0 lead and then held Sanchez Vicario off as she closed it to 4-3. Zvereva won the last eight points of the match to seal the victory. She excitedly hugged a ball girl when it was over.
Zvereva, ranked ninth in the world, said she had to fight to keep her composure as she neared victory over the world's top-ranked player.