Aryna Sabalenka played "unbelievable tennis" to shock world No 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 on Sunday to reach the WTA Finals final, where she will meet Caroline Garcia after the Frenchwoman cruised past Maria Sakkari in Fort Worth, Texas.
Swiatek had not dropped a set at the season-ending tournament but was subdued by the powerful forehand of the Belarusian, who sealed the massive upset with one of her 12 aces before pumping her fist in triumph.
"The only thing I had in my mind was just make her work. And that's it," Sabalenka said. "It's only because of that I was able to show unbelievable tennis tonight and get this win."
After trading breaks early in the first set, Sabalenka, who lost to the Pole in the US Open semi-finals in September, easily converted a couple of chances as Swiatek stumbled with a series of uncharacteristic mistakes.
Swiatek returned with new resolve in the second set, sweeping the first four games with the momentum seemingly on her side.
But world No 7 Sabalenka bounced back in the third set, dropping only two of her first-serve points without facing a break point to claim her third career win over a number one opponent.
"I just said that I have to stay aggressive and I have to stay in the moment, that's it," she said.
The win set up a rematch with a red-hot Garcia, who beat her en route to winning the Cincinnati title.
The Frenchwoman eased past Sakkari 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first WTA Finals championship match, sending down 19 winners and six aces to close out the tie in 75 minutes.
Garcia had needed three sets to beat Sakkari in Cincinnati three months ago but had a much smoother time of it on Sunday, breaking the Greek to love late in the first set before carrying the first four games of the second.
"My game style today, she didn’t like it," Garcia said.
A clumsy double-fault handed Sakkari a much-needed break point chance in the sixth game but Garcia snuffed out the danger with an ace and maintained the momentum.
Garcia thrust her hands into the air as Sakkari whacked the ball into the net on the second match point, bouncing around the court in celebration having reached the biggest final of her career.
The WTA Finals championship match is set for Monday.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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