Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova upended top- seeded fellow Russian Maria Sharapova to secure a berth in Sunday's final at the GDF Suez Open in Paris.
Saturday's first semifinal saw the unseeded Pavlyuchenkova come from behind to bounce last year's French Open runner-up and the former world No. 1 Sharapova, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, in 2 hours, 13 minutes on the indoor surface at Stade Pierre de Coubertin. A sloppy Sharapova piled up seven double faults and was broken five times on Day 6.
Pavlyuchenkova, who is now 1-1 lifetime against the career Grand Slam winner Sharapova, upset fourth-seeded 2012 GDF Suez champ Angelique Kerber here on Friday.
The 22-year-old Pavlyuchenkova will appear in her ninth career final, seeking a sixth title. This will mark her first final of 2014.
Her opponent on Sunday will be third-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani of Italy or fellow non-seed Alize Cornet of France.
Sunday's winner will claim $132,000.
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