Stosur beaten in Tokyo WTA semi-final

Nadia Petrova of Russia overpowered Australia’s Samantha Stosur 6-4 6-2 on Friday to advance to the final of the WTA’s Pan Pacific Open.

Petrova set the pace early when she broke the Stosur in the first game and had nine aces en route to the semifinal victory at Tokyo’s Ariake Coliseum.

Any chance for a comeback by Stosur was dashed when Petrova broke the 8th-seeded Australian in the seventh game of second set to go up 5-2.

“When I arrived here, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to play at all because I didn’t feel well,” Petrova said. “But I got stronger and stronger with every match and am happy to be in the final.”

The 17th seed will play the final against defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland who overpowered Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-1 6-1.

The third-seeded Radwanska faced little resistance against Kerber, who advanced to the semis after top-ranked Victoria Azarenka withdrew after a bout of dizziness in her third-round match on Wednesday.

Radwanska dominated from the outset, breaking Kerber six times including in the final game when Kerber played some of her best tennis, staving off three match points.

Despite the relative ease with which she won, Radwanska said it was tougher than it appeared.

“We played before and it’s always tough against her,” Radwanska said. “I had to run a lot. She’s a great player and I really had to stay focused.”

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