Eastbourne races into finals as rain holds off

Jun 18, 2011, 14:09 GMT

Eastbourne, England - Men and women raced through semi-finals Saturday as the ATP/WTA grass court event got back on schedule after a total washout a day earlier.

The finals were due to be played later in order to get the pre-Wimbledon event wrapped up by evening, with the Grand Slam starting on Monday.

On the women's side, Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova will play Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli for the title.

The men's final will pit third seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia against Italy's Andreas Seppi.

Kvitova, winner of the Madrid clay title, advanced into the title match when semi-final opponent Daniela Hantuchova retired with an abdominal strain trailing 7-6 (11-9), 4-2.

Bartoli, a 2007 Wimbledon finalist against Serena Williams, beat Australian seventh seed Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-1.

Tipsarevic defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-4; Seppi eliminated Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

Conditions were difficult on the grass of Devonshire park in windy conditions with the constant threat of rain.

Despite her loss, Stosur said she is going into Wimbledon on good form.

'It's been a really good week for me here. In spite of this match today, I'm going to into Wimbledon feeling good. I played some really good tennis here and got through some really good matches,' she said.

'So it's pretty much been exactly what I would want going into Wimbledon, and hopefully I can play well there as well.'

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