Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Sports Network) - American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and
Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic were easy semifinal winners Saturday
and will play for the title at the Malaysian Open.
Mattek-Sands pulled a second straight upset, following up her quarterfinal win
over second-seeded and defending champion Su-Wei Hsieh with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph
over third-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Pliskova had it even easier, dispatching fourth-seeded Ayumi Morita of Japan
in a mere 46 minutes with a 6-0, 6-2 rout. The 20-year-old Czech has not
dropped a set this week and will appear in her first WTA final.
Mattek-Sands, meanwhile, will play in her fourth career WTA title match. She
has yet to win, though, falling in finals at Quebec City in 2008 and 2010
before also losing in the 2011 Hobart title match.
The 27-year-old Minnesota native was a top-30 player before injuries began to
mount. She has dropped to 197th in the world.
Sunday's winner will collect a first prize of $40,000.
The Sports Network