MOSCOW, February 2 (R-Sport) - Second seed Maria Kirilenko eased past Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in straight sets on Saturday to reach the final of the Pattaya Open.
The Russian is in the her second consecutive final in Thailand after losing 6-7(4) 6-3, 6-3 to Daniela Hantuchova last year.
Kirilenko hammered Cirstea from the start, winning the first eight games, on her way to a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
In the final, Kirilenko will face Sabine Liciski, seeded fifth, who ousted world No. 130 Nina Bratchikova 7-5, 6-3.
Kirilenko, 26, has played Germany's Lisicki twice before, winning both encounters.
The Pattaya tournament is played on hard courts and has a $235,000 prize fund.