Maria Sharapova put herself in a position to win a third Edgbaston title after defeating American qualifier Alison Riske 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the WTA grass-court event in London on Saturday.
But victory was far from straightforward for the former Wimbledon champion.
The 19-year-old Riske had never won a match in a main WTA tour event before this tournament but, after Sharapova threatened a quick victory by taking the first set 6-2, levelled the match by taking the second set 6-4.
However, she could not maintain that level of play and Sharapova won the deciding set 6-1.
The second seeded Russian will now face top seed Li Na in the final.
However, the Chinese was also taken to three sets in her semi-final before beating France's Aravane Rezai 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.