MOSCOW (AP) — Anett Kontaveit will face Ekaterina Alexandrova in the final of the Kremlin Cup after Maria Sakkari retired from her semifinal match with Alexandrova on Saturday.
Sakkari was trailing 4-1 in the first set when she retired. The reason was not immediately clear.
Sakkari is ranked seventh in the world and secured a place at the season-ending WTA Finals earlier this week when she reached the quarterfinals in Moscow.
Alexandrova reached her first tour-level final since winning the Shenzhen Open in January 2020 and has a 1-1 career record in finals.
In Sunday’s final, Kontaveit will bid to win a third title in as many months after beating Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-4 in the other semifinal match. The Estonian took a big lead early in both sets but took her time closing out the match on the fourth match point.
“I thought it was a very difficult match. I was trying my hardest and Marketa is such a nice girl and a tough opponent and a tricky opponent to play against,” Kontaveit said. “I’m so happy to be in the final.”
In the men’s Kremlin Cup competition, two-time winner Marin Cilic faces Ricardas Berankis in the first semifinal, before Karen Khachanov and Aslan Karatsev play an all-Russian match.
