Radwanska to Meet Petrova in the Finals of the Pan Pacific Open
Agnieszka Radwanska defeated Angelique Kerber, 6-1, 6-1 on Friday to advance to the finals of the Toray Pan Pacific Open. The third-seeded Radwanska was at her best against one of the most solid players on the WTA this year, playing rock solid defense and hitting winners all over the place against the fifth-seeded seeded Kerber, who hit a backhand wide on match point, her 32nd unforced error of the match.
"We’ve played a couple of times before and it has always been tough, and even though today was 6-1, 6-1, it was tough as well, and I had to run a lot," Radwanska said. "She’s a very smart player and mixes up a lot of shots, so I had to stay focused from beginning to end. I’m very happy I could play my best today."
Awaiting Radwanska in the final is the 17th-seeded Nadia Petrova, who defeated Samantha Stosur in the first semifinal of the day, 6-4, 6-2. Both players were nearly sent home en route to this round, Stosur rallying from 4-1 down in the third set to beat Francesca Schiavone in the second round and Petrova rallying from 6-3, 4-1 down to beat Sara Errani in the quarterfinals.
"I haven’t played the final of these kinds of events for a while," Petrova said. "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 leads Petrova in their head-to-head, 3-1, but two of the three victories by Radwanska were by slight margins, and Petrova’s win came here in Tokyo.
