Radwanska, Petrova to fight for Pan Pacific Open title

By Liu Shiwen

TOKYO, Japan (TheSportsNEXT) September 29, 2012: Defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska and Nadia Petrova won their respective semi-final clashes at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Friday to set up a mouth-watering final to be played Saturday.

Agnieszka Radwanska outclassed Angelique Kerber by 6-1 6-1 while Russian Nadia Petrova stunned Australia Samantha Stosur by 6-4 6-2 to enter her first final at the WTA premier five event in Tokyo.

In the first semi-final, Agnieszka Radwanska wasted no time in pulverizing Angelique Kerber and despite of wrapping herself in taping at arms, neck, and shoulders she she put on exhibition tremendous form to maul a less-experienced opponent.

Talking to reporters after her victory, Agnieszka Radwanska said, "Even if it was 6-1 6-1 I had to run a lot to win that match”.

"The games were long so I started to try something different, mixing my game up. It worked. I'm just happy I could play my best tennis", she added.

It is merit mentioning here that Radwanska has this week qualified for the season-ending WTA Championships in Turkish city of Istanbul. She is the fourth player to qualify for the Istanbul event and four other sports are still up for grabs.

In the second semi-final, Nadia Petrova showed big heart as she posted yet another upset at the Pan Pacific Open 2012 with eighth seeded Samantha Stosur of Australia becoming her latest victim.

Nobody had expected such a one-sided semi-final clash, especially in Nadia Petrova’s favor.

Nadia Petrova, who is chasing her second title of the WTA Season 2012, came into the match with a 5-3 career advantage over Samantha Stosur and she took little time to extend her record to 6-3 over the former US Open champion.

Samantha Stosur looked out of sorts completely as she consistently committed unforced errors and could last for only an hour and 47 minutes.

However, Nadia Petrova showed great respect for her Australian opponent when she told reporters, "Sam is a tough opponent. She has a huge serve, a huge forehand. You have to be alert, you have to play your best tennis and I was able to accomplish that."