Guangzhou, China – Rising British star Laura Robson secured a berth in Saturday's final at the $220,000 Guangzhou International tennis event.
The left-handed Robson upset third-seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-2 in just under an hour-and-a-half in Friday's semifinal action on the hardcourts at Tianhe Sports Centre.
The 18-year-old Australian-born Robson recently enjoyed a run into fourth round at the U.S. Open, where she sent former world No. 1 Kim Clijsters into retirement with a second-round victory and followed with an upset of former French Open champion Li Na of China before falling to last year's U.S. Open titlist Samantha Stosur.
Robson's opponent on Saturday will be Taiwan's Su-Wei Hsieh, who upended fourth-seeded Pole Urszula Radwanska 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in the other semi. The 26- year-old Hsieh will now appear in her second final of the year, seeking a second title. She was a surprise champion, in her first career final, in Kuala Lumpur back in March.
The 74th-ranked Robson and world No. 53 Hsieh have met once on tour, with the Taiwanese prevailing in Osaka last season.
Saturday's winner will take home a first prize of $37,000.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.
