Petra Kvitova brushes aside Mihaela Buzarnescu to reach Birmingham final
Saturday 23 June 2018 17:01, UK
Defending champion Petra Kvitova cruised past Mihaela Buzarnescu to set up a final with Magdalena Rybarikova at the Nature Valley Classic in Birmingham.
Fourth seed Kvitova took a little over an hour to secure a 6-3 6-2 victory to reach her fifth final of the season and maintain her perfect run through the draw, having not dropped a set all week.
Defeat for 30-year-old Buzarnescu in her first WTA Premier semi-final is a minor setback after an impressive campaign which has seen her climb from outside the top 300 in the rankings to inside the top 30.
The Romanian struggled on her second serve and was broken in successive service games of the opening set before failing to capitalise on three break points in the second as Kvitova progressed to the showpiece.
Speaking about final opponent Rybarikova, world number eight Kvitova said: "(Magdalena and I) have been practising here this week, we always practise when we're in tournaments together. We're good friends, so it'll be a fun final."
She added: "So far this season is incredible, and I really can't imagine a better season so far."
Earlier on Saturday, Slovakian Rybarikova, the 2009 champion, won her last-four match 7-6 [7-1] 6-4 against two-time finalist Barbora Strycova.
The world No 19 edged a tight opener and then quickly recovered from being broken in the seventh game of the second to reach her first final of the campaign.
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