Tennis: Radwanska, Craybas to meet in Pattaya final
Associated Press
PATTAYA, Thailand — Teenager Agnieszka Radwanska will meet American veteran Jill Craybas in the final of the Pattaya Open after both won their semifinals convincingly today.
Top-seeded Radwanska routed Russian Ekaterina Bychkova 6-1, 6-1 in just 54 minutes, and Craybas beat Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-0 at the $170,000 tournament.
Radwanska benefited from a string of unforced errors by her opponent and moved a step closer to her second WTA title after Stockholm last year.
The 18-year-old Pole raced to a 4-0 lead before the erratic Russian could respond, and sealed the set with a forehand winner.
Bychkova managed a break at the start of the second set but Radwanska reeled off six games in a row to take the match.
Radwanska said the semifinal was easier than her earlier matches, and was thankful for the marginally cooler weather in the Thailand seaside town.
"She served well but didn't move well, probably because she was tired," Radwanska said. "I'm happy about my game except the first game of the second set. We played with new balls and she hit good shots."
The 33-year-old Craybas needed just 63 minutes to beat Amanmuradova and reach her first final since taking her first trophy in Tokyo in 2002.
"I was just committed to what I wanted to do rather than think about the result and stuff," Craybas said. "I wanted to play well, take her serves early and take her away from the angles. I've done a pretty good job at that."
The finalists have only one previous career meeting, when Radwanska beat Craybas 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 at Eastbourne last year.
"That was on grass," Craybas said. "It's a different surface. We're both fighters and consistent. So it will come down to just a few points here and there."