Top seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia booked her place in the final of the Auckland Classic on Friday after semi-final opponent Camille Pin was forced to retire with injury after just three games.
The Frenchwoman was struggling with a thigh injury from the start of the match and after receiving extensive courtside treatment called a halt while trailing 3-0 after 15 minutes of the first set to the 21-year-old world number 12.
"I'm sorry for Camille that she has got this injury and I hope she will recover before the Australian Open," said Jankovic, who is hoping to add the title to her sole win on the tour in Budapest in 2004.
"It's disappointing for me to win this way but I think it was a smart decision," she told reporters.
The 25-year-old Pin, ranked 75 in the world, said she was confident of making the Melbourne Park Grand Slam starting on January 15 despite the setback.
"There was nothing I could do. I could not start running. I could not lift my leg properly. If I cannot run, I cannot play."
Jankovic, who is yet to lose a set in Auckland this week, will face fourth seed Vera Zvonareva in Saturday's final after the Russian overcame American Jill Craybas 6-3, 7-5.
Zvonareva took two service breaks in the opening set before the American cut down her unforced errors in the second to make it more of a contest.
Craybas surged into a 4-1 lead in the second with two breaks of serve but the Russian battled back to seal it on her second match point.
"If I gave her a couple of unforced errors or did not come up with the goods, then she was on top of me," the Russian said, adding she was looking forward to the clash with Jankovic.
"Her (Jankovic's) serve is good, her returns are good, her ground strokes are really solid. She can come to the net when she needs to. Her all-round game is good."
© 2024 Rediff.com -