Sunday, April 6, 2014

Europeans Petkovic and Cepelova make Charleston final

Sat Apr 5, 2014 8:35pm EDT





<span id="articleText"/>(Reuters) - Bosnian-born German Andrea Petkovic outlasted rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard in a Family Circle Cup semi-final on Saturday to earn a spot in a WTA final for the eighth time.



<span id="midArticle_0"/>"It's funny how destiny plays, but reaching a final of a big tournament here in South Carolina where my father went to college is an honor, and it's nice," Petkovic told The Post and Courier after outlasting Bouchard 1-6 6-3 7-5 in a high-standard match on the green clay at Charleston, South Carolina.



<span id="midArticle_1"/>Petkovic, seeded 14th, will meet Jana Cepelova in the final on Sunday, after the unseeded Slovakian edged Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 6-4 5-7 7-6(7).



<span id="midArticle_2"/>It will be the first WTA final for 20-year-old Cepelova, who continued her dream run after knocking out Serena Williams in the second round.



<span id="midArticle_3"/>Petkovic, 26, was once ranked among the top 10 in the world but multiple injuries interrupted her career.



<span id="midArticle_4"/>Now healthy again, she shed tears of joy after Bouchard blasted a forehand over the baseline to end the match.



<span id="midArticle_5"/>The pair could hardly have been more evenly matched, with Petkovic winning 102 points and Bouchard 101 as both players displayed dominating forehands.



<span id="midArticle_6"/>Bouchard had the upper hand in the deciding set after breaking in the fifth game and then holding serve to go 4-2 up, but Petkovic quickly broke back to level it.



<span id="midArticle_7"/>Petkovic had a match point in the 10th game on Bouchard's serve, but was unable to convert.



<span id="midArticle_8"/>It proved, however, merely a stay for crowd-favorite Bouchard, who reached the Australian Open semis in January.



<span id="midArticle_9"/>Cepelova and Bencic were also evenly matched, as both players broke five times in a match that stretched for two hours, 33 minutes.



<span id="midArticle_10"/>Bencic was up 4-1 in the tiebreak but Cepelova came through in the clutch.



<span id="midArticle_11"/>(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina, Editing by Gene Cherry)



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