Washington, DC – Magdalena Rybarikova's hopes of a repeat title were kept alive after downing third-seeded Ekaterina Makarova on Saturday in the semifinals of the Citi Open tennis tournament.
Rybarikova, seeded seventh, dominated the Russian with a 6-2, 6-0 victory on the hardcourts at FitzGerald Tennis Center.
The 24-year-old Slovakian defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in last year's D.C. finale and will look to repeat as champion when she challenges German Andrea Petkovic in the final.
Petkovic earned her 300th career match win and advanced to her second final of the year by defeating fourth-seeded Aliz��� Cornet in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3. The 25-year-old finished runner up at Nurnberg in June.
The 2013 Citi Open champ will collect $40,000.