Marion Bartoli and Aravane Rezai will meet
in an all-French final at the WTA Tournament of Champions event after each
posted straight-set semifinal wins on Saturday.
The top-seeded Bartoli cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Japan's Kimiko Date
Krumm, while Rezai notched a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Spain's Maria Jose Martinez
Sanchez.
Bartoli will play in her fourth final of 2009 and will try for her third title
of the year. She won previously in Monterrey and Stanford, while losing in her
first event of the season at Brisbane back in January.
The 2007 Wimbledon finalist is 5-5 lifetime in WTA singles finals. She was the
2006 runner-up in Bali when it was a regular tour stop.
Rezai captured her lone WTA singles title back in May with a triumph in
Strasbourg just before the French Open. She has also lost two title matches --
at Auckland in 2008 and Istanbul in 2007.
Bartoli and Rezai will square off for the third time. Bartoli won both
previous meetings without dropping a set, including a second-round matchup in
Tokyo just five weeks ago.
Sunday's winner, as an undefeated champion in this round-robin event, will
earn a first prize of $200,000.
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