SAINT PETERSBURG: Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva reached her first career WTA final after a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over second seed Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia in St. Petersburg on Saturday.
Putintseva will face France’s Kristina Mladenovic, who battled back from a set down to beat Russian wildcard Natalia Vikhlyantseva 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Sunday’s final.
“It’s unbelievable!” Putintseva said. “It was extremely hard to oppose such an experienced opponent like Dominika.
“But I didn’t feel any pressure either yesterday or today. I like the city, the arena, I like the tournament very much and I just enjoy playing here.”
Putintseva started the match by breaking Cibulkova immediately, but the world number five broke back twice to take the opening set in 46 minutes.
The 22-year-old refused to surrender though and rallied from behind to knock off Cibulkova in two hours and 20 minutes in what was the pair’s first meeting on tour.
Earlier, 19-year-old Vikhlyantseva, ranked 115th, took the opening set in 58 minutes in her first WTA semifinal.
But Mladenovic, 23, also chasing a maiden title, rattled off the final two sets to book a spot in her fourth career final.
“My physical condition made the difference today,” Mladenovic said.
“I feel well, I feel fresh and I think it’s really good to win such a tough three-setter. And I’m excited to play in the final here.”
Svitolina to face Peng in Taiwan Open final
Top seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine secured a spot in the Taiwan Open final Saturday after beating Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella in straight sets.
Svitolina, who has been struggling with a flu since arriving in Taipei and only narrowly defeated her rival the previous night to advance to the semifinals, defeated Minella 6-3, 6-2.
The 13th seed will face China’s Shuai Peng, a two-time Grand Slam doubles winner, on Sunday.
Peng, ranked 71st, has been gathering momentum after defeating a string of higher-ranked players, including Czech Lucie Safarova, ranked 55th, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday.
Peng also knocked out Czech Katerina Siniakova, ranked 40th, and second-seed Australian Samantha Stosur, ranked 23th, to reach the last four.
She returned to tennis last March after taking a break from playing following an operation for a waist injury in 2015.
The only previous encounter between Svitolina and Peng was in the 2014 New Haven Open when the Chinese emerged victorious after two sets.
Putintseva will face France’s Kristina Mladenovic, who battled back from a set down to beat Russian wildcard Natalia Vikhlyantseva 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, in Sunday’s final.
“It’s unbelievable!” Putintseva said. “It was extremely hard to oppose such an experienced opponent like Dominika.
“But I didn’t feel any pressure either yesterday or today. I like the city, the arena, I like the tournament very much and I just enjoy playing here.”
Putintseva started the match by breaking Cibulkova immediately, but the world number five broke back twice to take the opening set in 46 minutes.
The 22-year-old refused to surrender though and rallied from behind to knock off Cibulkova in two hours and 20 minutes in what was the pair’s first meeting on tour.
Earlier, 19-year-old Vikhlyantseva, ranked 115th, took the opening set in 58 minutes in her first WTA semifinal.
But Mladenovic, 23, also chasing a maiden title, rattled off the final two sets to book a spot in her fourth career final.
“My physical condition made the difference today,” Mladenovic said.
“I feel well, I feel fresh and I think it’s really good to win such a tough three-setter. And I’m excited to play in the final here.”
Svitolina to face Peng in Taiwan Open final
Top seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine secured a spot in the Taiwan Open final Saturday after beating Luxembourg’s Mandy Minella in straight sets.
Svitolina, who has been struggling with a flu since arriving in Taipei and only narrowly defeated her rival the previous night to advance to the semifinals, defeated Minella 6-3, 6-2.
The 13th seed will face China’s Shuai Peng, a two-time Grand Slam doubles winner, on Sunday.
Peng, ranked 71st, has been gathering momentum after defeating a string of higher-ranked players, including Czech Lucie Safarova, ranked 55th, 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday.
Peng also knocked out Czech Katerina Siniakova, ranked 40th, and second-seed Australian Samantha Stosur, ranked 23th, to reach the last four.
She returned to tennis last March after taking a break from playing following an operation for a waist injury in 2015.
The only previous encounter between Svitolina and Peng was in the 2014 New Haven Open when the Chinese emerged victorious after two sets.
