By ,
Published January 13, 2015
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.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/niculescu-reaches-final-in-brazil