Maria Sakkari has outlasted Coco Gauff 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 after blowing three match points in the second set of their rain-delayed clash to reach the BNP Paribas Open final in California.

Sakkari will play in her fourth WTA 1000 decider, and second at Indian Wells, against top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Monday after her 6-2 6-1 win over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

It will be a rematch of the 2022 final, which Swiatek won in straight sets.

There were delays of 20 minutes and two hours during the ninth career meeting between third-seeded Gauff and the ninth-seeded Greek.

Sakkari broke the US Open champion twice in taking a 5-2 lead in the second set. But Gauff won four straight games and fought off three match points in the 10th game to take a 6-5 lead.

Sakkari held to force the tiebreaker, which she lost 7-5.

There were break points in each of the first six games of the third. After dropping serve to open the set, Sakkari twice broke Gauff and then held for a 4-1 lead. She held again to go up 5-2 and then 70 minutes after her first three match points, Sakkari hit a forehand winner to set up her fourth. She closed out the contest on Gauff’s forehand error.

With the victory, Sakkari notched five consecutive victories for the first time since winning her first WTA 1000 title last fall in Guadalajara.

Swiatek earlier produced a near-flawless performance to cruise past Kostyuk to remain on track for her second title of the year.

Swiatek, the 2022 champion, made her intentions clear early with an aggressive start to claim a break for a 2-1 lead.

She pulled further away when Kostyuk double-faulted two games later, wrapping up the opening set in 31 minutes.

The 21-year-old Kostyuk was put through the wringer again by the world No.1 at the start of the second set.

A powerful smash at the net gave Swiatek another break and the four-time grand slam champion withstood some pressure from the 31st seed in the next game before building a 3-0 advantage.

Kostyuk appeared to struggle with a left foot problem and a medical timeout only delayed the inevitable, as Swiatek eased to a WTA Tour-leading 19th win of the season – finishing off the match with a forehand winner.

“For sure I’m happy with the performance,” said the 22-year-old Pole.

“It was the cleanest match I played here. It’s already a great tournament.”

Swiatek has beaten Sakkari in three of their five meetings.