Sasnovich rallies past Cornet, advances to Cleveland final

CLEVELAND (AP) — Seventh-seeded Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus moved within one win of her first WTA Tour title, rallying to beat eighth-seeded Alizé Cornet 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-3 on Friday in the semifinals at Tennis in The Land.

Sasnovich, ranked 36th in the world, won the final three games in the second set after Cornet served for the match up 5-4. She then jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third before closing out the 2-hour, 50-minute contest with a drop shot.

“When Alizé had the chance to serve out the match, I was thinking, ‘If you are losing, lose aggressively,’” Sasnovich said. “I tried to do my best because that’s all you can do in that situation.”

No. 37 Cornet of France did not lose a set in her first three victories in Cleveland, which included the 500th of her career in the opening round.

Sasnovich, who advanced to her fourth career final, will play No. 45 Liudmila Samsonova for the championship Saturday.

Samsonova beat Bernarda Pera 6-1, 6-2 in just 53 minutes, allowing four total points in winning all eight of her service games. The unseeded Russian fired seven aces without a double-fault against the lone American in the semifinals.

Pera, ranked No. 51, had won career-best 13 consecutive WTA matches and claimed titles at Budapest, Hungary and Hamburg, Germany. It was her first loss since Wimbledon two months ago.

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