Sofia, Bulgaria (SportsNetwork.com) – Andrea Petkovic of Germany and Italy’s
Flavia Pennetta were semifinal winners Saturday and will meet for the title at
the WTA Tournament of Champions.
Petkovic cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Garbine Muguruza before
Pennetta brushed aside another Spaniard in Carla Suarez Navarro with a 6-4,
6-2 triumph.
It took Petkovic just 24 minutes to capture the first set of her semifinal on
Saturday, but she dropped the first two games of the second before storming
back by winning the next five to take complete control.
Petkovic will try for her third title of 2014. She previously won in
Charleston and Bad Gastein, and will carry a 4-5 mark in finals into Sunday’s
match.
Pennetta is 10-13 all-time in finals, including 1-0 this year. She beat
Agnieszka Radwanska for the title at Indian Wells back in March.
Suarez Navarro had the second semifinal even at 4-4, but Pennetta then won the
next two games to claim the first set and opened a 2-0 lead in the second. The
Spaniard rallied to even the second set before Pennetta reeled off the final
four games.
Petkovic and Pennetta have split four career meetings. Pennetta won the only
matchup this year, capturing a three-set decision in Stuttgart.
This eight-player season-ending tournament is for players who have won one or
more of the WTA International events during the year but failed to qualify
for the WTA Finals, which was staged in Singapore last week.
The Tournament of Champions will move to Zhuhai, China, next year after a
three-year run in Sofia.
