Beijing finalist Petkovic has chance for Top-10 place

Oct 8, 2011, 14:19 GMT

Beijing - German Andrea Petkovic has a chance to move inside the top 10 standing if she can win her Sunday China Open final against Agnieszka Radwanska.

Patkovic, 11th on the WTA, destroyed Romanian qualifier Monica Niculescu 6-2 6-0, while Radwanska - winner a week ago of the Tokyo title - beat Flavia Pennetta 6-2, 6-4, a day after the Italian had upset world number one and holder Caroline Wozniacki.

In the men's draw, third seed Tomas Berdych upset top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga with sparkling play for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory in just over two hours.

The Czech will face Marin Cilic, who won an all-Croatian battle over veteran compatriot Ivan Ljubicic 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi.

Berdych fired his eighth ace on match point to end a seven-match Tsonga win streak which included a title last month in Metz, France. Berdych produced 22 winners and broke Tsonga three times in the competitive contest.

Berdych will be playing his first final since Wimbledon in 2010 and won his last title in Munich in 2009. Both men are still in the hunt for four remaining spots at the eight-man season finals in London next month.

Petkovic said that losing two previous matches to Niculescu gave her an edge going into the contest.

'I never underestimated her, I knew that I'd lost to her before. I went in like I was playing the world number one,' she said.

Both player have a chance to advance into the elite, under WTA calculations, with Petkovic also an outside hope for a possible place in the year-end final to be played for the first time in Istanbul later in the month.

Radwanska has beaten Petkovic in all four of their previous matches, the last in Toronto in August. Radwanska broke five times to beat Pennetta in just over 90 minutes and improve her record to 44-15 and two titles.

Niculescu had few weapons against Petkovic, who denied the Romanian even one service hold in their brief 61-minute meeting. Niculescu was far from the player who had upset French Open winner Li Na in the first round.

Petkovic will be bidding for a second 2011 title after winning Strasbourg and finishing as runner-up in Brisbane.

Cilic lost the Beijing final two years ago against Novak Djokovic and will wait for a Sunday opponent from top-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of Czech Tomas Berdych.

Cilic applied his big serve with style, finding 13 aces with nine for his opponent and friend. Cilic stood 0-2 against Ljubicic going into the semi-final.

The winner broke for 5-4 in the opening set, a turn of events which he said broke open the match for him.

'I then started serving better, the start of the second set was really crucial,' said the 23-year-old. It was maybe the best I've ever served.'

Cilic annulled a 3-1 lead in the second set only to lose the advantage with a break-back a game later when a forehand went wrong. But Ljubicic succumbed in the final game to take the loss, his third at the Bejiing semi-final stage.

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