It will be Ana Ivanovic, at long last, who will meet Martina Hingis in the final of the US$1.34 million Rogers Cup.
The impressive 18-year-old from Serbia completed a rain-interrupted 6-1, 6-4 semi-final victory over Dinara Safina of Russia during a 20-minute dry spell on Sunday.
Ivanovic faced former world No. 1 Martina Hingis of Switzerland in the final yesterday.
PHOTO: AFP
"It's a great opportunity for me because she's one of the best and I want to be one of them, too," said Ivanovic, who will play for the first time in the final of a Tier-1 tournament, one level below the grand slams.
"I'm very excited to be in the final. I had quite good opponents from the first round on, but I put a lot of hard work into this and I can see the results. This gives me even more motivation to play opponents like Martina," she said.
Yesterday's forecast called for clear skies. The semi-final had been suspended due to rain on Saturday night with Ivanovic leading 6-1, 3-4 and was delayed more than five hours again on Sunday.
The drizzle let up just long enough for Ivanovic to sweep three straight games in chilly, windy conditions with only a few hundred diehards left in the seats at Uniprix Stadium.
Then it rained again, postponing the final to yesterday. It is the first time the tournament has gone an extra day since Ivan Lendl beat Eliot Teltscher in the 1981 men's final of the then Canadian Open.
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