Tennis: Vekic wins 12 consecutive games to reach Nottingham final

(Reuters) - Croatian Donna Vekic reached the final of the weather-hit Nottingham Open grasscourt event on Saturday as she came from a set down to win 12 consecutive games against German Tatjana Maria.

Vekic, the second seed, lost a tight opener before storming to a 5-7 6-0 6-0 victory.

What was perhaps more remarkable than the turnaround in Vekic's fortunes, was the fact that it was the first match she had completed on grass all week.

Five days of rain has wrought havoc with the schedule throughout the week, forcing most of the matches to be played on indoor hardcourts rather than the lawns.

Even when Vekic led 5-0 in the decider there was another rain interruption but she returned to complete the win.

"I'm super happy to be back in the final, and finally completed a match on grass as well," Vekic, champion in 2017, said. "That was really fun, to be out there playing again. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.

"It's definitely been a crazy week for everyone," the 22-year-old added.

She will face either French top seed Caroline Garcia or American Jennifer Brady in Sunday's final, although they will have to return to court in the morning after yet more rain fell to suspend play in their semi-final on Saturday.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Clare Fallon)