Tennis: Bartoli reaches Carlsbad final

CARLSBAD: Top-seed Marion Bartoli won her third successive three-setter when she overcame Chan Yung-jan 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final of the Carlsbad Open. After being bullied by Taiwanese qualifier Chan in the opening set, Bartoli hit back in the second after fixing her serve and shaking off the effects of a sore ankle. She took control in the decider, wrapping up victory in two hours and 16 minutes. She will now face second-seed Dominika Cibulkova in the final, who beat Nadia Petrova of Russia 7-6, 6-1 in the other semi-final. While Bartoli has been pushed to the wall in her matches under the California sun, Cibulkova has not dropped a set in three matches.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 23^rd, 2012.