Troicki to defend Kremlin Cup title
Defending champion Viktor Troicki of Serbia advanced to the Kremlin Cup final on Saturday by beating French qualifier Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4.
- Associated Press
- Updated: October 22, 2011 11:43 PM IST
Defending champion Viktor Troicki of Serbia advanced to the Kremlin Cup final on Saturday by beating French qualifier Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 6-4.
In the women's semifinals, Dominika Cibulkova beat Elena Vesnina 6-0, 6-2 to continue her chase for a first WTA title, while Kaia Kanepi will be going for her second after rallying to eliminate Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3.
Troicki, seeded second, broke in the ninth game in each set and sealed the victory with an ace.
"I was lucky enough that I stayed focused on key moments of the match," Troicki said. "I broke him two times when it was 40-all. He was a top-30 player before and obviously is coming back now. I had to play my best tennis to beat him today."
In the final, Troicki will play either top-seeded fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic or three-time champion Nikolay Davydenko.
The eighth-seeded Cibulkova reaches her second straight final after losing to Petra Kvitova in Linz, Austria, on Sunday.
The 20th-ranked Slovak, who is winless in three WTA final appearances, dominated her 64th-ranked Russian opponent, scoring seven break points and taking it on the first match point when Vesnina smashed into the net.
"I started very well and was playing too fast for her and that's why she (Vesnina) was making mistakes," Cibulkova said.
Vesnina had advanced to her first semifinal at the home event after Marion Bartoli of France withdrew with a viral illness from their quarterfinal match on Friday.
"A day off hasn't helped me," Vesnina said. "A couple of close games in the first set but I played with no confidence."
After trading sets, the 43rd-ranked Kanepi jumped out 5-2 before Safarova saved two match points on her way to breaking the Estonian.
Safarova had to fend off two more match points on her ensuing serve but eventually netted a forehand to lose.
"It's a bit unexpected that I'm in the final but I believed in that," Kanepi said. "When I went to Tokyo two weeks ago, I though why not can I win this tournament, and I made it to quarterfinals. And when I came here, I said the same."
Kanepi beat top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the third round in Tokyo, but lost to her in Beijing the next week.