MADRID — Maria Sharapova secured her place in the final of the Madrid Open for the second consecutive year with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win over Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska Saturday. The four-time Grand Slam champion will face Romanian Simona Halep in Sunday's final as she ground out a hard-fought 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2 victory over fifth seed Petra Kvitova. Sharapova has slowly begun to hit form in recent weeks on her return to clay after a difficult start to the year and she stormed through the opening set for the loss of just 11 points. The Russian was dominant again at the start of the second as she raced into a 3-0 lead, but Radwanska battled back to take four straight games and lead 4-3 with a break. Unfortunately for the third seed, though, she gifted the break straight back and Sharapova also took the next two games to round off victory in little over an hour. Earlier, Halep booked her place in her first ever final of a mandatory event after outlasting Kvitova after over two-and-a-half hours on court. “It was a very tough match today. I couldn't believe that I came from behind again. She played really well and she was fighting the whole match,” said Halep. “I'm very excited that I can play in my biggest final tomorrow. I hope that I can control my emotions and just play. “I just have to enjoy it. I'm really happy that I can play the final here in Madrid.” However, the 22-year-old is aware of the size of the task that awaits her in Sharapova having lost in their only two meetings to date. “I expect a very tough match. Maria is a champion and she knows how to manage the finals.” “I knew it was going to be a tough match,” said Kvitova. “She beat me in the New Haven final, so I was looking forward to revenge. It was a long match and was a good fight throughout. She was just better in the end, but it was still a good match for me.” Nadal also in final World No. 1 Rafael Nadal remained on course to retain his Madrid Masters title Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 semifinal victory over fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut. The 13-time Grand Slam champion has now won 12 sets in a row in the Spanish capital as he looks for his first title of the European clay court season after suffering shock defeats in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in recent weeks. And Nadal could have the chance to avenge his defeat to David Ferrer in Monte Carlo should the world No. 5 overcome Kei Nishikori in Saturday's other semifinal. Nishikori had ensured he will become the first ever Japanese player to make the top 10 of the ATP rankings with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez to make the semifinals Friday. Currently ranked 12th in the world, Nishikori will move into the top 10 when the latest rankings are released Monday. Bangkok loses event The first leg of the inaugural International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) has been shifted from Bangkok to Manila because of the political unrest in Thailand, organizers said Saturday. Thailand's politicians have been unable to forge a compromise over a nearly decade-long split between the royalist establishment and a populist former telecommunications tycoon, whose sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, was ousted as prime minister Wednesday. “We had to divert from the original franchise owner in Bangkok as the political unrest forced us to look for an alternative city to ensure the safety of all stakeholders,” league founder Mahesh Bhupathi said in a statement. Picked by Bangkok in the March draft, Britain's Andy Murray, Frenchman Jo Wilfried-Tsonga and Victoria Azarenka of Belarus will now represent team Manila. Singapore, Dubai and Mumbai are home to the other three franchises of the competition styled on cricket's Indian Premier League. The teams will compete in men's and women's singles, men's and mixed doubles and a men's legends singles with one set per match, and no advantage scoring. — Agencies
