Rezai beats Sharapova to reach Istanbul Cup final

May 26, 2007 08:57 IST

Unseeded Aravane Rezai continued her giant-killing feats at the Istanbul Cup, beating top seed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to set up a final against Russian Elena Dementieva.

Frenchwoman Rezai, who beat fourth seed Venus Williams in the second round, suffered a slight leg injury but still easily beat world number two Sharapova.

"I am very happy about defeating Sharapova. Dementieva is a more experienced player than me...I believe that I will play better tomorrow," Rezai told CNN Turk TV.

Earlier, second-seeded Dementieva beat Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko, the fifth seed, 7-6, 6-2.

Dementieva said earlier this month that she had considered retirement after suffering a stress fracture of three ribs while working with a new physical trainer in Moscow.

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