Sania Mirza after defeating Sybille Bammer of Austria 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 during the semi-finals of the Stanford Classic on Saturday. (AFP)

Stanford: Indian No. 1 Sania Mirza upset eighth seed Sybille Bammer 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the final of the Bank of West meet on Saturday.

The unseeded 20-year-old, whose only Tour title came in Hyderabad in 2005, outfought the Austrian under the hot sun in two hours and 14 minutes.

Sania will face top seed Anna Chakvetadze, who overcame third seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.

There was double delight for Sania when she and Israeli Shahar Peer, the third seeds, Hsieh Su-Wei of Chinese Taipei and Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia 6-3, 6-4 to reach the doubles final as well.

“It was about mental strength,” Sania said of her singles win. “It’s a great way to start the hardcourt season. I’ve had good wins here and am hitting the ball well.”

This was Sania’s third big win over of the week, having earlier ousted Tatiana Golovin and Patty Schnyder.

Sania began the match crushing her huge forehand and powering her backhand crosscourt.

But in the second set, she began to play more conservatively and paid for it. She was broken four times, the last one in the final game, when she committed a forehand error on set-point.

In the third set, Sania broke Bammer to 4-3 when she ripped a forehand down the line. The Indian won the match when she hit a forehand crosscourt winner on her fourth match-point.

“I said I have to hang in there and I did,” Sania said.

“At this level when it’s 3-3 in the third set, whoever is mentally tougher and comes up with shots at deuce and 40-30 when it matters the most will come out the winner.

Bammer said Sania, who should break into the top 30 for the first time, has the potential to make the top ten.

“She has the fastest forehand on tour,” Bammer said. “She can only go forward from here.”

Chakvetadze recorded her ninth straight victory in the United States after out-running Hantuchova, who troubled the Russian with some aggressive groundstrokes.

But Chakvetadze began to spot her serve better in the second set and gained control of the match.

“We both played well, but I was more consistent in the last two sets,” she said. “I had so many opportunities. I’m so tired because she made me run a lot. I knew I had to play more aggressive.”

Chakvetadze has a 2-0 record against Sania, including her semi-final victory in Cincinnati last week.