Pennetta ousts Li to, sets final date with Radwanska

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AFP
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Pennetta ousts Li to, sets final date with Radwanska
INDIAN WELLS: Italian veteran Flavia Pennetta handed top seed Li Na just her second loss of the year, winning their semifinal 7-6 (5), 6-3.The women combined for eight straight service breaks in the first set, which Li lost with her eighth double-fault.

Pennetta then broke the No. 2-ranked Li two more times in the second set and closed out the win with a backhand down the line.

Li, the reigning Australian Open champion, fell to 17-2 on the year. She was the top seed for the first time at one of the top-level WTA events. "It was pretty high-level match," said the Chinese star, who made more than 50 unforced errors. "I lose the match, a little bit sad, but I still can see a lot positive. At least, I like the way I hit the ball."

Pennetta will play No. 2 seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in Sunday´s final.

Radwanska beat sixth-seeded Simona Halep of Romania 6-3, 6-4 to reach her first final in eight appearances at the tournament. "I´ve been here so many times and finally I did it," Radwanska said.

Halep had Radwanska on the run most of the match, but the Polish player was up to the challenge, continually chasing down balls and making well-placed returns. "What I was trying to do was playing aggressive from the beginning of the match and just trying to go for my shots," Radwanska said. "Pretty much all the games, doesn´t matter who was serving, it was really tight games. I was better just a few points each set."

Halep is projected to move up two spots to a career-best No. 5 in the world in Monday´s WTA rankings, the highest ever by a Romanian woman. (AP)