Madrid: Maria Sharapova held her nerve Saturday to reach her second consecutive Madrid Open final, where she’ll play Simona Halep of Romania.
Sharapova was cruising against Agnieszka Radwanska before allowing the third-seeded Pole to break back in the second set. But the eighth-ranked Russian recovered to secure a 6-1, 6-4 win. Earlier, Halep rallied in the hot conditions to dispatch former champion Petra Kvitova 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
Two-time defending champion Serena Williams pulled out with a thigh injury on Friday.
Kvitova, the 2011 winner, looked on course for victory after going 2-0 up in the second set against Halep, who was visibly frustrated after a late call went against her during the first-set tiebreaker.
But Kvitova hit 66 unforced errors and that inconsistency caught up with her as Halep recovered, with the now composed Romanian hitting 22 winners and breaking her Czech opponent four times over the last two sets.
Kvitova struggled in the final set, looking sapped of energy by the end of a match that lasted more than two hours on the clay at the Magic Box.
“It’s been an amazing week for me, I feel very well here in Madrid,” said Halep, who reached her first Masters series final. “I played really well, I was striking the ball really well.”
