Mattek-Sands to face Pliskova in Kuala Lumpur final

Published January 13, 2015

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic were easy semifinal winners Saturday and will play for the title at the Malaysian Open.

Mattek-Sands pulled a second straight upset, following up her quarterfinal win over second-seeded and defending champion Su-Wei Hsieh with a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over third-seeded Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Pliskova had it even easier, dispatching fourth-seeded Ayumi Morita of Japan in a mere 46 minutes with a 6-0, 6-2 rout. The 20-year-old Czech has not dropped a set this week and will appear in her first WTA final.

Mattek-Sands, meanwhile, will play in her fourth career WTA title match. She has yet to win, though, falling in finals at Quebec City in 2008 and 2010 before also losing in the 2011 Hobart title match.

The 27-year-old Minnesota native was a top-30 player before injuries began to mount. She has dropped to 197th in the world.

Sunday's winner will collect a first prize of $40,000.

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