Kirilenko Rocks Cirstea to Reach Pattaya Final

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Kirilenko Rocks Cirstea to Reach Pattaya Final

By Chris Oddo

(February 2, 2013) -- Maria Kirilenko reached her second consecutive PTT Pattaya Open final on Saturday with a 6-0, 6-2 battering of Sorana Cirstea.

The victory is the Russian's third straight over Cirstea, and it marks the second consecutive time Kirilenko has ousted Cirstea in the semis at Pattaya. Last year she needed three sets to get past the Romanian, edging her 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. This year, Kirilenko barely needed to break a sweat.

The World No. 15 converted on 6 of 12 break points and won 15 of 20 points against Cirstea's second serve.

After bageling her in the first set, Kirilenko jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second before Cirstea finally showed signs of life, winning two consecutive games to even the second set at two apiece.

But Kirilenko, who will contest her 12th career final on Sunday (she has five titles), reeled off the next four games to close out the drubbing in style.

Earlier in the day, fifth-seeded Sabine Lisicki put an end to Nina Bratchikova's deepest ever run at a WTA event when she defeated the Russian 7-5, 6-3. Lisicki drilled eight aces against the 27-year-old, and even though the German surrendered three breaks of serve on the day, she was able to parlay a strong return into six breaks of her own.

Lisicki, who has lost 13 of her last 14 matches against top 15 talent, will bid for her fourth career title in her sixth final.

(Photo Credit: AP)