Pattaya: Sania Mirza along with her Australian partner Anastasia Rodionova reached the WTA Pattaya Open final after defeating Akgul Amanmuradova and Kimiko-Date Krumm in straight sets. Meeting them in the final will be Chan Hao-Ching and Chan Yung-Jan.
The Indo-Australian pair lost eight games and stamped their authority with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Sania has been having a good run in the doubles category of late. The 25-year-old Hyderabadi, who lost in the singles quarterfinal on Friday, made amends by making it to the women's doubles final, as she and her partner came up with high-quality display against the third-seeded opponents. It may be recalled here that Sania has decided to focus more on doubles so as to be in the reckoning for a slot in the London Olympics by trying to stay in the world top 10 women's doubles rankings
Meanwhile, Maria Kirilenko will play against defending champion Daniela Hantuchova in the women’s singles finals. Kirilenko survived a valiant comeback to defeat Sorana Cirstea, 6-2 5-7 6-4. In a match that was characterized by aggressive hitting from both players, it was Kirilenko, the No.4 seed, who was the early pace setter, reeling off five games in a row to take the opening set in half an hour. Kirilenko continued this positive approach in the second and after breaking in the ninth game, served for the match.
However, Cirstea was not going quietly; she conjured up her best tennis of the match, winning the next three games, dropping just four points in the process, to force a third set. Yet it was the Romanian who was first to blink in the decider, dropping serve at 4-4 to allow Kirilenko to serve out the match. This will be Kirilenko's first WTA final for nearly 16 months and she has certainly earned it, spending over nine-and-a-half hours on court.
Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova, her opponent on Sunday, on the other hand, is yet to drop a set, requiring less than six hours to see off her four opponents.
By Indian Sports News