TASHKENT — Urszula Radwanska came from behind to beat Alexandra Panova of Russia 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in just over three hours to reach the semifinals of the Tashkent Open Tuesday. Urszula, the younger sister of third-ranked Agnieszka, broke six times in the match but dropped her own serve five times. The 40th-ranked Pole will play Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania, who upset eighth-seeded Galina Voeskoboeva of Kazakhstan 3-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5. Donna Vekic dispatched sixth-seeded Bojana Jovanoski of Serbia 6-4, 6-4 to reach her first career semifinal. The 16-year-old Croat will meet Eva Birnervo after the Czech defeated fifth-seeded Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-3, 4-6, 6-2. “Reaching the semifinals at a WTA tour event has not sunk in yet,” Vekic said. “I'm happy that I played very well.” Radwanska was in trouble early against the hard-hitting Panova. After winning the first set, the Russian raced to a 2-0 lead in the second before dropping four straight games. The pair then traded breaks to set up the tiebreaker, which was won comfortably by Radwanska. “It was a great and close match and I tried to focus on every point,” said Radwanska, who is aiming to win her second title this year. “I was a little lucky to have won against a good friend.” Panova put the loss down to Radwanska being “physically better than me today.” “I played well and gave everything when I was down a few points,” Panova said. “It hurts after coming so close.” Flipkens stuns Cibulkova Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens beat top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 Wednesday in the first round of the Bell Challenge in Quebec City. In the second round, American Lauren Davis easily defeated second-seeded Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium 6-1, 6-1, and third-seeded Mona Barthel of Germany beat Slovenia's Petra Rampre 6-2, 6-1. Serena, Sharapova to join Murray in Brisbane French Open winner Maria Sharapova will join US Open champions Serena Williams and Andy Murray in warming up for next year's Australian Open at the Brisbane International, organizers said Thursday. Williams and Murray started their seasons at the tournament this year but Russian Sharapova will be making her first appearance at the event, which takes place at the Queensland Tennis Centre from Dec. 31 to Jan. 6. “Going into Australia after a long off season you always want to have the best possible matches,” the 25-year-old, losing finalist at Melbourne Park this season, said in a news release. The Australian Open, the first grand slam of the year, begins in Melbourne on Jan. 14. — Agencies
