Tennis Capsules: Tipsarevic to meet Youzhny in Kremlin Cup final

MOSCOW — Janko Tipsarevic will play Mikhail Youzhny and Francesca Schiavone will meet Olga Govortsova in the final of the Kremlin Cup, after all four players posted straight-set victories Saturday.

Tipsarevic advanced to his first final by beating Ukrainian qualifier Illya Marchenko 6-1, 6-4, while Youzhny beat Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 6-2, 6-1.

Schiavone defeated Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine 6-4, 6-0 to make her second straight final, while Govortsova ousted Alisa Kleybanova of Russia 6-2, 6-1 to reach her second career final.

Tipsarevich broke decisively in the seventh game of the second set.

"I tried to change the rhythm and tempo in the match," the Serb said. "I got a huge boost and confidence in my game once I made the first break. ... I have no experience of playing in the final — this is my first one. So, I will play it point by point, like any other match."

Youzhny, the 2004 runner-up from Russia, dominated after an exchange of breaks early in the first set.

Schiavone is 1-10 in WTA Tour finals, winning at the Gastein Ladies in 2007. The 24th-ranked Italian lost to Samantha Stosur last week in the final at Osaka, Japan.

Schiavone, the 2005 runner-up, broke Bondarenko decisively in the 10th game of the first set and dominated the second set to reach her third final this season.

"I was more aggressive today," Schiavone said. "At 5-2 she played too good, very good but then I was pushing and took my chance. I think I played better today."

Schiavone is now 4-2 against Bondarenko, who won her only title by beating the Italian in the Luxembourg final in 2006.

After an exchange of breaks, unheralded Govortsova broke Kleybanova two more times in the first set. The 67th-ranked Belarusian was 4-1 up in the second when Kleybanova called for a doctor to have her right shoulder and back massaged.

"It was tough struggle in every game, though the score looks so impressive," Govortsova said. "I’m happy with my play here."

Govortsova, who is 1-1 against Schiavone, said she would have to play aggressively to beat the her.

"Schiavone always plays good here because she plays passively with many slices and drop shots," Govortsova said.

The 20th edition of the Kremlin Cup has a weakened women’s draw because seven of the world’s top players had qualified for the Doha Championships before the Moscow tournament and opted to skip it.

Soderling out of Stockholm Open with elbow injury

STOCKHOLM — Top-seeded Robin Soderling withdrew from the Stockholm Open semifinals Saturday because of an elbow injury, allowing Marcos Baghdatis to advance to the final against Olivier Rochus.

Rochus outlasted Tomaz Bellucci of Brazil 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 to reach Sunday’s final at Royal Tennis Hall.

Soderling has been bothered by a sore right elbow since July, when he withdrew from the quarterfinals in Washington. He said he’s felt pain in the last few weeks.

"I had an MRI Tuesday and they told me that I have to rest two, three weeks to get well," he said.

Soderling is vying for one of the two remaining spots for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London next month. He hasn’t decided if he’ll play upcoming tournaments in Valencia and Paris.

"I haven’t withdrawn from any tournaments so far," Soderling said. "I’ll just wait and see and have more medical examinations."

The 10th-ranked Swede, a surprising finalist in the French Open this year, was the only seeded player left in the tournament.

"I’m sorry for Robin first of all," Baghdatis said. "It’s not easy to retire, especially when you’re playing at home. But obviously I’m happy to get through to the final."

Baghdatis has not lost a set in his three matches. Ranked 66th, Baghdatis has won two career titles. He’s looking forward to playing his practice partner on Sunday.

"Rochus is playing great," Baghdatis said. "He’s a good friend of mine and we’ve warmed up together every day this week. It’s nice to play a friend in the final."

Rochus, ranked 87th, also has two career titles. He broke Bellucci’s serve twice in the decisive set to lead 4-0. Bellucci broke back twice, cutting the score to 5-3. But Rochus held his serve to close out the match, winning on his third match point.

"I played a good match," he said. "I stayed positive and didn’t give up."

Rochus has had a tough year following shoulder surgery.

"My ranking was down at 120," he recalled. "To finish near the top 50 is incredible for me."

-- Stephan Nasstrom

Bacsinszky beats Wickmayer to reach L’bourg final

LUXEMBOURG — Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky defeated fifth-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday to make the finals of the Luxembourg Open.

Bacsinszky struggled in the third set to keep her lead, as Wickmayer fought back to tie the set 5-5 before the Swiss player won the match after the Belgian hit the ball into the net.

Bacsinszky will play for her first WTA Tour single’s title on Sunday against either Shahar Peer from Israel or sixth-seeded Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

Lisicki, Bacsinszky in Luxembourg Open final

LUXEMBOURG — Sabine Lisicki of Germany came back to defeat Shahar Peer of Israel 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (5) on Saturday to advance to the Luxembourg Open final against Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland.

The unseeded Bacsinszky upset fifth-seeded Yanina Wickmayer 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the early semifinal, ending the Belgian’s eight-match winning streak.

Bacsinszky had lost to Wickmayer last week in Linz, Austria, where Wickmayer won her second career WTA Tour title.

This time, the Swiss rallied from a set down and held on after blowing a 4-1 lead in the third set. Bacsinszky is playing for her first title in Sunday’s final.

The sixth-seeded Lisicki fought back from 4-2 down in the third set and 5-3 down in the tiebreaker.

Lisicki won her first career title at Charleston in April. She beat Bacsinszky in their only previous match in this year’s Fed Cup.