PATTAYA, Thailand (AP) Fourth-seeded Ekaterina Makarova of Russia beat Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final of the Pattaya Open where she will play Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic for the first time.
Makarova is chasing her second career title after winning in Eastbourne in 2010. She needed 1 hour, 46 minutes to eliminate Czech doubles specialist Hlavackova.
''She was playing so aggressive, so flat ... I really wanted to fight to make her move,'' the 28th-ranked Makarova said. ''The final will be similar ... I need to do the same like today, making her (Pliskova) move as much as I can.''
Pliskova served 13 aces to beat Julia Goerges of Germany 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in 1 hour, 35 minutes. She reached her second career WTA final after winning the title in Kuala Lumpur last year.
Pliskova took a 3-0 lead in the decisive set but failed to convert two match points at 5-2. However, she served out the match at love in the next game.