Petrova Awaits Radwanska in Tokyo Finals

(September 28, 2012) -- In a week full of tight matches and surprising outcomes, it's probably appropriate that veteran Nadia Petrova will be seeking the biggest title of her career when she takes on Agnieszka Radwanska in the finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.

In the first women's semifinal played under the closed roof of the Ariake Coliseum, Petrova played her former doubles partner Sam Stosur who ousted Maria Sharapova in the last round. But while these two have had close contests before, it was Petrova who earned an early break of serve to start out the match.

Stosur struggled to hold serve for most of the first set as Petrova forced the Australian to deuce in several games. Stosur held though and had a brief chance to break back the Russian at 3-4 but let the moment slip away. Down 4-5, Stosur called for a medical time out to have her back attended to but the break in action didn't stop Petrova from serving out the set 6-4.

From there, it was all Petrova as she saved three break points against her in the second set while breaking Stosur twice en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Tokyo will be Petrova's 23rd career final with a 11-11 lifetime record when going for a title.

"I haven't played the final of these kinds of events for a while," Petrova told WTA.com. "It's a really good achievement for me. I'm going to enjoy it, relax and get ready for tomorrow's final, and maybe I'll even watch some of the girls playing later."

Radwanska Seeks Fourth Title of the Year

Though Angelique Kerber had beaten Agnieszka Radwanska before, their meeting in the second women's semi was a decidedly one-way event. Radwanska, who hit 20 winners and only four unforced errors, put on a near clinic as she easily disposed of Kerber 6-1, 6-1 in just under an hour.

The win was Radwanska's 55th of the year and ensures she will hang go to her No. 3 ranking on Monday. But perhaps more important, Radwanska is seeking her fourth title of the year against Petrova who has beaten Radwanska only once in four tries, ironically with the only win being in Tokyo several years ago.

"Nadia has been playing great tennis the whole week," Radwanska said. "First of all I'm very, very happy I could reach the final and fight for the title again. I'll try my best. It's the final, the most important match of the week."

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TORAY PAN PACIFIC OPEN