Francesca Schiavone to face Olga Govortsova in Kremlin Cup final
Associated Press
10/24/09 10:25 AM EDT
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| Francesca Schiavone of Italy, returns the ball to Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine during a semi-final match at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze) (AP) |
MOSCOW — Francesca Schiavone of Italy and Olga Govortsova of Belarus advanced to the final the Kremlin Cup with straight-sets victories on Saturday.
Schiavone defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-0 to reach her second straight final in as many weeks. Govortsova ousted Alisa Kleybanova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second career final.
Schiavone is 1-10 in WTA Tour finals, winning at the Gastein Ladies in 2007. The 24th-ranked Italian lost to Samantha Stosur last week in the final at Osaka, Japan.
Schiavone broke Bondarenko decisively in the 10th game of the first set and dominated the second set to reach her third final this season.
After an exchange of breaks, unheralded Govortsova broke Kleybanova two more times in the first set. The 67th-ranked Belarusian was 4-1 up in the second when Kleybanova called for a doctor to have her right shoulder and back massaged.
Later in the men's semifinals, Janko Tipsarevic will face Illya Marchenko and Mikhail Youzhny will play Mikhail Kukushkin.
