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Florianopolis, Brazil – Monica Niculescu secured a berth in the final at the inaugural WTA Brasil Tennis Cup.
Niculescu upset seventh-seeded 19-year-old Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 6-0, 6-2 in 63 minutes on the hardcourts at Federacao Catarinense de Tenis.
The 25-year-old Romanian will meet the Venus Williams-Olga Puchkova semifinal winner in Saturday's championship match.
The Bucharest native Niculescu is seeking her first-ever WTA title. She was a runner-up in Luxembourg in both 2011 and last year.
This week's champion will pocket $40,000.
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