By IANS,
Osaka (Japan): Sania Mirza’s fine run at the WTA Japan Open tennis came to an end after she lost 2-6, 1-6 to fourth seeded Francesca Schiavone in the semi-finals here Saturday.
This was the third time that Sania lost to the Italian, who is ranked 26 in the world.
Sania, a former top-30 player who is currently ranked No.61, had taken out No.5 seed Shahar Peer and No.2 seed Marion Bartoli to reach the semi-finals of the $220,000 event.
She was seeking her second final of the year, having been runner-up at Pattaya City in February.
Schiavone took less than an hour to defeat the unseeded Sania, breaking serve four times and never facing a break point herself.
“I served well and was aggressive right to the end,” Schiavone said.
“As I didn’t have a match yesterday (Friday), I spent the afternoon walking the city and everywhere I saw new things. I enjoy learning things about the culture here. I went to karaoke and then a nice meal. The people here are really nice.”
In the final, Schiavone will face Australian Samantha Stosur, the No.3 seed who upset top-seeded Danish Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 4-6, 6-4.