THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
STRASBOURG, France — Maria Sharapova gained the Strasbourg International final Friday, rallying past Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to earn a matchup with Kristina Barrois of Germany for the title.
The top-seeded Russian will chase her 22nd title against the unseeded Barrois, who will play her first final on the WTA Tour after outlasting American Vania King 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
Sharapova needed to win two matches in the same day because two quarter-finals were interrupted by rain Thursday.
Earlier on Friday, Sharapova beat Julia Goerges of Germany 7-6 (2), 6-1 and Medina Garrigues defeated Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden 6-2, 7-5. Sharapova was leading 3-2 on Thursday, while the fifth-seeded Spaniard took the first set against Arvidsson before rain started.
Sharapova managed to hold serve only once in the opening set of her match against three-time champion Medina Garrigues. But she started the second set by winning five straight games and won the match by breaking the Spaniard twice in the final set.
Sharapova is recovering from a right elbow injury and is hoping to regain her best form before the start of the French Open.
The 77th-ranked Barrois converted her second match point in a tight encounter in which she won just one more point than King (86 to 85).
Barrois failed to serve out the match at 6-5, letting King break back to force a tiebreaker.
King took a 3-0 lead in the opening set, but Barrois broke twice in the second set to level.
Meanwhile in doubles quarter-final action, Marie-Eve Pelletier of Repentigny, Que., and partner Julie Coin of France lost to American Jill Craybas and Germany’s Julia Goerges 7-6 (4), 6-4.