Flavia Pennetta will lock horns with Agnieszka Radwanska in the Indian Wells title clash today after stunning Li Na in straight sets, avenging a loss to the Australian Open champion in Melbourne.
In a match that featured entertaining rallies but also 11 breaks of serve – eight straight in the opening set – 32-year-old Pennetta prevailed 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to reach the biggest final of her career.
“I think we play really good tennis,” Pennetta said. “We fight a lot.”
It was a contrast to their clash in the Australian Open quarter-finals, where Li crushed Pennetta 6-2, 6-2 en route to her second grand slam title.
“In Australia I didn’t have any chance against her,” Pennetta said. “This time I played much better."
Awaiting Pennetta in today’s final will be world No3 Radwanska, who defeated sixth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep 6-3, 6-4.
Radwanska has won four of six career encounters with Pennetta, but the Italian beat her in straight sets in Dubai last month.
“I have to be really aggressive. I have to go for winners,” said Pennetta, looking ahead to the final. “But I can’t rush too much, because she’s a wall. I mean, I have to make seven times the winners against her. But I played really well against her in Dubai, so I hope to play the same way this time.”
Radwanska is hoping she can avenge that defeat – just as she turned the tables on Halep after falling to the 22-year-old Romanian in the semi-finals at Doha last month.
“I think similar to Halep, I’m looking forward to playing her and getting a little bit of revenge,” Radwanska said of her shot at Pennetta. “It’ll be a tough one.”
Perhaps stung by her loss to eventual champion Halep in Doha, Radwanska came out with an aggressive game plan, quickly seizing a 4-0 lead.
Halep, who is projected to rise from her current ranking of seventh to fifth in the world next week, stanched the bleeding, but Radwanska served out the set with an ace on her first set point.
She broke Halep twice in the second set to seal the win.
