Erakovic rallies to reach title match in Quebec

Quebec City, QC – New Zealand's Marina Erakovic rallied from an early deficit to beat third seed Tamira Paszek of Austria and reach the final of the $220,000 Bell Challenge tennis event.

Erakovic, who came into the tournament ranked 85th and without a career championship, earned a 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory in a semifinal that took nearly 2 1/2 hours.

Paszek returned to Quebec City after winning her second career WTA singles title here last year as a qualifier, but thoughts of a repeat championship were erased Saturday.

This has been a remarkable climb up the rankings for Erakovic, who after a six-month break due to a left hip injury in 2009 saw her ranking fall to No. 750 (April 2010). She was ranked 333rd at the start of the 2011 season.

Erakovic fired eight aces and will await the semifinal winner between sixth seed Barbora Zahlavova Strycova of the Czech Republic and Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands.

The 2011 Bell Challenge titlist will earn $37,000.