Carla Suarez Navarro became the first Spanish woman in more than two decades to reach the final of the ATP and WTA Miami Masters with her 6-3 6-3 defeat of Andrea Petkovic on Thursday.

The last Spaniard to play for the trophy at Crandon Park was two-time champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in 1993, beating Steffi Graf in that final.

Saturday’d final against either seven-time winner Serena Williams or world number three Simona Halep will be the biggest career test yet for Suarez Navarro, seeded 12th.

The unstoppable Williams is bidding to win a third straight Miami title and has won her last 16 matches at the venue as she takes on Halep, winner of the Indian Wells title nearly a fortnight ago.

Suarez Navarro came out on top of a loose match, combining with Petkovic for nearly 60 unforced errors in less than 90 minutes on court.

The Spanish winner broke on three of 10 chances and was never in trouble against her German opponent.

“I played a good match, an important match like this is difficult,” said the winner. “I just tried to play my game and enjoy it.

“Playing this final is an important event for me. I train in the off season in hopes of playing a final like this.”

Petkovic came to the semi-final without the loss of a set in the tournament conceding just 18 games.

Suarez Navarro owns just one title at the WTA level after winning in Portugal last spring.