WTA Libema Open: Sabalenka beats Rogers to reach final, to face Alexandrova

Hertogenbosch: World No 6 Aryna Sabalenka registered a 7-6(6), 6-0 victory against Shelby Rogers to reach the Libema Open final, here on Saturday. Sabalenka will meet No 7 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, who baet No 8 seed Veronika Kudermetova in another semi-final, which lasted for 1 hour and 16 minutes. The 24-year old Sabalenka and Alexandrova have split four previous meetings with two wins apiece. Alexandrova won the most recent encounter 6-3, 6-4 in the 2021 Moscow quarterfinals, and Sunday's final will be their first clash on grass.

American Rogers was bidding for her third career final and first since Rio de Janeiro 2016, and pushed Belarus' Sabalenka all the way in the opening act. The No 42-ranked played a tactically astute set, deploying slice and net approaches to excellent effect. Opting for placement over power, she kept her unforced error count down to five while finding 12 winners.

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