tennis news

7 November 2009

Bartoli sets up all-French final

Bartoli: Seeking third title of 2009

Marion Bartoli will play fellow Frenchwoman Aravane Rezai in the Tournament of Champions final after a 6-1 6-3 victory over Kimiko Date Krumm.

Bartoli took 85 minutes to see off the challenge of the 39-year-old Date Krumm - the oldest woman on the WTA Tour - and set up a meeting with compatriot Aravane Rezai.

Bartoli breezed through the first set and it was much the same in the second as she raced into a 5-0 lead and though Date Krumm staged a minor fightback to make it 5-3, Bartoli saved two break points in the ninth game before closing out the match.

It is Bartoli's fourth final appearance of the season as she looks to add to the titles she won in Monterrey and Stanford earlier this year.

Rezai, meanwhile, progressed with an equally-comfortable victory as she defeated Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, of Spain, 6-2 6-3.