Sharapova Advances to Final in Qatar

Maria Sharapova defeated Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-4, 6-3, yesterday to extend her unbeaten run to 13 matches and set up an all-Russian final at the Qatar Open in Doha.

Sharapova, who avenged her loss to Radwanska at the U.S. Open, will play Vera Zvonareva in the final today. Zvonareva rallied to defeat Li Na, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

"It wasn't an easy match as she got a lot of balls back, but I was able to dig in and get winners myself," Sharapova said.

The winner will receive $441,000, the richest paycheck on the WTA Tour outside the Grand Slams. . . .

Radek Stepanek advanced to the final of the SAP Open in San Jose, using a mix of deep groundstrokes and crafty drop shots to beat American Robby Ginepri, 6-7 (7-5), 6-4, 6-1.

Stepanek will play top-seeded Andy Roddick, a 7-6 (7-2), 6-1 winner over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Roddick had previously squeezed past Mardy Fish in a tight three-set quarterfinal Friday, 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 7-5.

Ginepri couldn't conjure up the same combination that he used to beat fellow American James Blake a night earlier.

Ginepri was frustrated by the patient Czech who often used deep slice backhands to pin Ginepri to the baseline.

In the final set, Ginepri put up little fight and Stepanek grew more confident as the American appeared to tire and fade. On the final point, a ball struck by Stepanek ticked the net and floated into the court as Ginepri hung his head and walk up to shake hands.

The match began evenly, with no breaks of serve in the first set. Ginepri found himself down 1-4 in the tiebreaker, but Stepanek played a few loose points, lost focus and Ginepri regained control and won the set. . . .

Top-seeded David Nalbandian and Jose Acasuso won semifinal matches, setting up an all-Argentine championship in Buenos Aires.

Nalbandian routed fourth-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, 6-1, 6-2. Acasuso, unseeded, rallied past eighth-seeded Filippo Volandri of Italy, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.