Petkovic, Radwanska to play in China Open final

By Johanna Yueh
China.org.cn, October 9, 2011

Ninth-seeded Andrea Petkovic and 11th-seed Agnieszka Radwanksa will meet in the 2011 China Open women's singles final Sunday.

Petkovic, ranked 11th in the world, overwhelmed Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-0 in the first women's semifinal match Saturday, a lopsided contest that took just 61 minutes to complete.

Andrea Petkovic of Germany returns a shot to Monica Niculescu of Romania during the semifinals of the China Open at the National Tennis Center on October 8, 2011 in Beijing, China.

Niculescu, who knocked out home favorite Li Na in the first round, never held serve in the entire match. Petkovic also struggled with her service games in the first set but solid net play put her up 40-15 in the final game. A strong forehand sealed the set for her, and from there she never let up.

Petkovic opened the second set by holding at love. A spirited challenge by Niculescu, whose creative shot-making may have looked better against a less superior player than Petkovic, tried a mix of big serves, heavy baseline hitting and drop shots against her opponent. But Petkovic would find an answer to all of them.

In the 10th game, a frustrated Niculescu let out a howl after hitting a forehand long, ending a long rally. In the next point, Petkovic sent a forehand winner down the line, pumped her left fist and shouted, "Come on!"

But Petkovic will face a player at the top of her game on Sunday. Radwanksa, fresh off her win in Tokyo, has breezed through the tournament so far. The world No. 12 beat Flavia Pannetta 6-2 6-4 in the second semifinal match.

Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska returns the ball to Flavia Pennetta of Italy in their singles semifinal match of the China Open Tennis Tournament in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011.

Pannetta, who defeated world No. 1 and defending champion, Caroline Wozniacki, in the quarterfinals, looked to be staging a comeback midway through the second set.

After calling a medical timeout to have her ankle looked at, Pannetta stepped onto the court looking fresh and rejuvenated. She broke back from 3-1 down and then held serve to level the set with heavy shots from side to side that threw Radwanska off guard.

But Radwanska seemed to find another gear as well, stepping up her first serves and coming to the net. In the final game, two strong forehands forced Pannetta to hit the ball into the net, then wide.

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