TENNIS:Agnieszka Radwanska needed eight match points to finish off Li Na yesterday but confirmed her fine pre-Australian Open form by maintaining her perfect start to the year and reaching the final of the Sydney International.
The Polish top seed was well worth the 6-3 6-4 win over her Chinese opponent and will face Dominika Cibulkova in today’s final after the Slovakian stunned German second seed Angelique Kerber 6-2 4-6 6-3.
“I think I was really playing good tennis the last couple of days,” said Radwanska, who also won the Auckland Classic last week and has started the year with eight straight wins.
“I hope I can continue playing at this level.”
David Ferrer has played six fewer matches than Radwanska this year but really hit his stride yesterday when he swept aside Lukas Lacko 6-2 6-1 to remain on course for a fourth title at the Auckland Open.
The Spaniard, who like Radwanska will be seeded fourth in the Australian Open Melbourne Park next week, needed just 54 minutes to beat his Slovak opponent and set up a semi-final against France’s Gael Monfils, who later beat Tommy Haas 3-6 7-5 6-3.
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