Kirilenko breezes into Thailand final
Moscow, Feb 3 : Second seed Maria Kirilenko eased past Romania's Sorana Cirstea in straight sets to reach the final of the Pattaya Open tennis event.
The Russian is in the her second consecutive final in Thailand after losing 6-7(4) 6-3, 6-3 to Daniela Hantuchova last year.
Kirilenko hammered Cirstea from the start, winning the first eight games, on her way to a 6-0, 6-2 victory Saturday.
In the final, Kirilenko will face Sabine Liciski, seeded fifth, who ousted world No. 130 Nina Bratchikova 7-5, 6-3.
Kirilenko, 26, has played Germany's Lisicki twice before, winning both encounters.
The Pattaya tournament is played on hard courts and has a USD 235,000 prize fund.