Sydney, Australia (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska won her
semifinal matchup on Thursday, while No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber was upended
at the Sydney International, a final Australian Open tune-up.
The world No. 4 Pole, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up who was last week's
champion in Auckland, handled fourth-seeded Chinese slugger Li Na in
Thursday's semifinal at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.
Radwanska saved 4-of-6 break point opportunities and took advantage of five
double faults from Li en route to a 6-3, 6-4 triumph.
The 23-year-old Radwanska has yet to drop a match this season and will be
looking for her 12th career title when she takes on Slovak Dominika Cibulkova
in Friday's finale.
Cibulkova knocked off Kerber of Germany 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 to secure her spot in
her first final of the season.
The Slovak is the first unseeded finalist in Sydney since Jelena Jankovic made
a trot to the final in 2007. Overall, she's just the fifth unseeded woman to
reach the final since 1990, joining Jankovic, Jennifer Capriati, Venus
Williams and Sam Stosur.
Cibulkova, who owns two career WTA titles, has dropped all three previous
meetings with Radwanska, including a 6-0, 6-3 setback in the 2008 U.S. Open.
The Sports Network