Battling Sharapova into Zurich final

US Open champion Maria Sharapova had to battle hard for a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 victory over unseeded Katarina Srebotnik to reach the final of the Zurich Open.

Waiting for her in Sunday's showdown will be the winner of the other semi-final between fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Slovak Daniela Hantuchova.

Srebotnik provided dogged resistance, and neither player faced a break point until 4-4, when the Slovenian played a poor game and surrendered her serve to love with a netted forehand.



But Sharapova failed to capitalise, dropping her own serve to love with a succession of errors, and she then had to fight off a set point at 6-5 with an ace.

Sharapova always looked the more comfortable player in the tiebreak, securing it with her sixth ace, and she then took a 2-0 lead in the second set against a disappointed opponent.

But Srebotnik quickly recovered her composure, and a Sharapova double-fault followed by a backhand error earned her the break back at 3-1.

Sharapova received a warning for coaching after dropping serve, but she responded by taking control of the rallies and winning the final three games, breaking for 4-2 and the match by forcing backhand errors.