Carlsbad, California, Aug 7 -- Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland won 10 consecutive games to beat second-seeded Andrea Petkovic of Germany 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 on Saturday and reach the final of the Mercury Insurance Open.
Radwanska, seemingly still bothered by a right shoulder injury, faces the winner of the late semifinal between top-seeded Vera Zvonareva of Russia and No. 5 seed Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.
Radwanska has reached her first final since she lost here last year to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova. She will be seeking for her first title since 2008 and her fifth overall. Petkovic, who took advantage of Radwanska's weak serving, looked to be in control after the first set. Radwanska has had a nerve issue in her right shoulder since last week at Stanford. The injury affects her most on her serve.
Radwanska broke Petkovic's serve in the first game of the second set and took complete control of the match. With Radwanska holding at 4-0 lead in the second set and Petkovic serving at 0-40, Petkovic sprinted into the stands and off the court. The referee gave her credit for a medical timeout due to stomach issues.
Petkovic had advised tournament supervisor Melanie Tabb and chair umpire Kerrilyn Cramer ahead of time about the issue, so there was no point violation for leaving the court. The delay didn't help as Radwanska finished off the set and continued her strong play into the third set when she broke Petkovic twice. Petkovic, currently ranked 11th, is projected to reach the first top-10 ranking of her career. She also will become the first German in the top 10 since Anke Huber in October 2000.AP
