OSAKA: Third-seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia upset defending champion Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the final of the Japan Women’s Open on Saturday.

Stosur, who had 12 aces, broke the top-seeded Dane to go up 5-4 in the final set and then held serve to defeat the US Open finalist in 1 hour, 45 minutes at Utsubo Tennis Center. Stosur will face fourth-seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy in Sunday’s final. Schiavone needed just 59 minutes for a 6-2, 6-1 win over India’s Sania Mirza.

Stosur had lost to Wozniacki in two previous meetings this year but improved to 2-2 against the sixth-ranked player.

The Australian, despite being 15th in the world rankings, is still looking for her first WTA singles title, having lost all five of her previous finals. Schiavone broke Mirza four times and never faced a break point to improve to 3-0 against the unseeded Indian. Like Stosur, Schiavone has an unenviable record in tournament finals, standing at 1-9. The sole win came in the Gastein Ladies event in Austria in 2007.