Sevastova advances to third straight Mallorca Open final

Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova defeated Australia's Samantha Stosur 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 to advance to her third straight final at the Mallorca Open, a Wimbledon tune-up event.

Sevastova dropped her serve twice in a competitive first set on Saturday, but she lost just five points on serve in the second set as she rolled to an easy victory, reports Efe.

"I never expected to make the final here three times in a row," Sevastova was quoted as saying on the WTA's website. "It was a tough draw here with a lot of good players."

Next up for the Latvian in Sunday's final will be Germany's Tatjana Maria, a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 winner in the other semi-final over American qualifier Sofia Kenin.

Although Sevastova has had great grass-court success on the Spanish island of Mallorca, including winning her second career title there last year, she has not fared well at Wimbledon.

Having never advanced past the second round in five main-draw appearances at the All England Club, she will look to finally have a breakthrough when this year's edition of that Grand Slam event starts on July 2.

--IANS

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