The 24-year-old qualifier triumphed 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 against her fifth-seeded opponent at the Russian capital's Olympic Sports Complex, moving her to within one win of success at this WTA Premier tournament.

Behind 45 winners and five breaks of serve, Jabeur secured a seventh win this week, rallying from a break down twice in the final set to seal a third victory over a seeded player.

She is the first woman from Tunisia to reach a final on the WTA Tour.

"This is really amazing and I'm really happy," Jabeur said.

"I gave it all today, and it wasn't easy because she plays really good. 

"I'm really happy that that Tunisians are here. 

"They helped me through the end of the match because it was a little bit difficult."

Today’s second set is the first that Jabeur has lost in the main draw.

The world number 101 is guaranteed to rise to 63rd in the global rankings.

Victory in the final, which will see her face home favourite Daria Kasatkina, will propel her to inside the top 50 to 49th. 

Sixth seed Kasatkina secured her place in the final with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at the expense of British number one Johanna Konta.

The pair had split their two previous meetings, but it was Kasatkina who sailed to victory after one hour and 31 minutes of play.

In an high-quality encounter, Konta had 26 winners to 24 unforced errors, while Kasatkina had an even stronger ratio with 28 winners to only 20 unforced errors.

The Russian was last year’s beaten finalist, losing to Germany’s Julia Goerges, but will have the opportunity to make amends tomorrow.

By reaching the final, she has also claimed an alternate spot at the WTA Finals in Singapore, where action is due to take place from October 21 to 28.