Saturday 14 October 2017 18:07, UK
Maria Sharapova has reached her first final since 2015 after beating Shuai Peng 6-3 6-1 at the Tianjin Open.
The Russian is enjoying her most successful tournament since she returned in April from a 15-month ban for taking the banned substance meldonium.
A five-time grand slam champion, Sharapova needed just 78 minutes to beat third seed Peng, and she will be hot favourite to claim the title on Sunday, when she will face world No 102 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Having been given a wildcard into the tournament, the 30-year-old Sharapova has powered into the decider without even dropping a set.
She made the perfect start to her semi by breaking Peng's serve in the first game of the match and closed out the set with another break.
Peng had held her own for much of the opening set but former World No 1 Sharapova broke early in the second and went on to complete a comfortable win.
Awaiting her in the final will be teenager Sabalenka, who will be bidding for her first WTA title after defeating Italy's Sara Errani 6-1 6-3.
Czech Republic's Barbora Strycova will face top seed Magdalena Rybarikova in the final of the Linz Open in Austria.
Second seed Strycova was a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) winner in her semi-final against Romanian Mihaela Buzarnescu, while Slovakian Rybarikova was a 6-4 6-4 victor over Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic.
We will have all the action from the conclusion of the Shanghai Masters before we head to the Erste Bank Open and Swiss Indoors Basel and then the Paris Masters.
The Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and season-ending extravaganza World Tour Finals at London's O2 in November end another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation. Who will win the World Tour Finals this year? Have your say...
