Victoria Mboko had to dig deep, but she booked her place in the Strasbourg Open final by beating Jaqueline Cristian in three sets.

Mboko found her edge when it mattered in the third set and fought to a 7-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-2 victory over the Romanian in two hours and 46 minutes.

Cristian started strongly to race into a 3-0 lead, but she failed to convert her set point while 5-2 up, allowing Mboko back in.

The Canadian reeled off the next three games and forced a tie-break, holding off two more set points in the process; she let her guard slip at 5-1 up, but made no mistake when she had the chance to get over the line and take the lead.

Cristian wrestled control again early in the second set, winning four straight games to take a 4-1 lead, and though she had her serve broken straight after, this time, she converted her first set point.

Mboko barely gave Cristian a sniff in the decider, getting two vital breaks to ensure her opponent could not build any more momentum, while remaining strong on her serve.

And she will face Emma Navarro in the showpiece, after the American beat Ann Li in straight sets in the other semi-final.

Navarro has enjoyed a strong run in Strasbourg, with her 6-1 6-3 victory on Friday marking her first straight-sets win at the tournament since her opening match.

Data Debrief: Mboko shows her mettle

Mboko found herself on the back foot a few times in the semi-final, but she dug in deep to give herself the chance to play for the trophy in her first clay-court final.

In the final set, she found her groove on serve, winning 83% of her first-serve points (20/24) while saving both break points she faced.

That was up from both the first set (68% – 21/31) and the second (38% – 8/21).