Taiwanese, Indian clash for singles title

Fifth seed Wang I-ting of Chinese Taipei and No. 16 Sania Mirza of India scored similar wins yesterday to reach the finals of the $10,000 Union Cement-ITF Philippine Women’s Circuit 1 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

Wang, a quarterfinalist in the Busan Asian Games, conquered second seed and world’s No. 571 Khoo Chin Bee of Malaysia, 6-4, 6-2, while Mirza defeated wild card Ivanna Israilova of Uzbekistan, 6-4, 6-2.

"It will be a tough match in the finals. I’ve seen her (Mirza) semifinal match. She’s a power player and she plays smart," said the 20-year-old Wang, ranked No. 604 in the world.

Wang trailed 1-3 and 3-4 in the first set but came back strong to prevail in 42 minutes. She raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set before Khoo held serve at 2-5. Wang survived the Malaysian’s late rally in the last game to win the match.

"I was a little nervous in the last two games because I didn’t think that I can win the second set easily," said Wang, who improved her head-on encounter with Khoo to 2-1. Khoo won in the $10,000 event in Korea while Wang prevailed in another $10,000 event in her country.

"I’m glad to be in finals. I’ll try my best to play well and win," added Wang, ranked No. 4 behind Hsieh Su Wei, Janet Lee and Chung Chia Jung back home.

Mirza, who competed twice in the Mitsubishi International Juniors here in Manila, is eyeing her second title this year. She won the $10,000 Hyderabad event in her hometown last September in her first stint as a pro.

"I played good today. My confidence level is high and I expect myself to play well in the finals," said Mirza, who debuted in the Busan Asian Games where she won the mixed doubles bronze medal with Leander Paes.

Mirza, who will turn 16 Nov. 15, has been training under C.G.K. Bhupathi, father of 2002 US Open doubles champion Mahesh, since January. She competed in this year’s Australia, French, Wimbledon and US Open Juniors.