FEZ, Morocco (AP)—Simona Halep of Romania beat Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the Grand Prix SAR for the second year in a row.
She will play Italian veteran Alberta Brianti after former top-ranked player Dinara Safina withdrew from the second semifinal with an illness.
The seventh-seeded Halep made the most of her opponent’s weak serve to break her six times. She had the decisive break in the ninth game of the second set and served out the match at love.
Halep lost to Iveta Benesova in last year’s final after coming through the qualifiers.
The WTA tour did not provide any further details on Safina’s illness. The Russian was set to play her first semifinal since her runner-up finish at Cincinnati in August 2009.