Marina Erakovic has banked $260,980 so far this year. Photo / Supplied
Marina Erakovic is in line for another good payday after she combined with Russian Elena Vesnina to qualify for the doubles final at the $273,000 WTA event in Linz, Austria, yesterday.
The pair beat Liga Dekmeijere (Latvia) and Petra Martic (Croatia) 6-2 6-4 but their opponents in the final won't be known until today when the second semifinal between Julia Goerges and Anna-Lena Groenefeld (both Germany) and Mervana Jugic-Salkic (Bosnia) and Sandra Klemenschits (Austria) is played. The final will be held tomorrow.
The match will be Erakovic's second appearance in the final of a WTA doubles event this year after she started 2011 with an appearance in the ASB Classic final in January. She has one WTA doubles title to her name so far after winning the Pattaya Open doubles title with Tamarine Tanasurgarn in February 2010. It continues a good run of form for Erakovic in a year that has seen her singles ranking climb from 324 to 61. She is also the 59th-ranked doubles player in the world. She has banked $260,980 so far this year, which is almost a third of her career earnings of $826,830.
Elsewhere, New Zealand's Rubin Statham and his Australian partner Brydan Klein lost their doubles final in the third set tiebreak at the $18,621 men's futures tournament in Kalgoorlie, Australia. The pairing of Michael Look and Nicolas Meister beat Statham and Klein 2-6 7-6(6) 10-5.
Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Andy Murray moved into the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters by beating Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden 6-3, 6-2 for his 13th straight win. The second-seeded Scot has won 23 of his last 24 matches since mid-August, with the only loss coming to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the US Open. He's attempting to win his third title in as many weeks.
David Ferrer had a far tougher time in his quarterfinal, needing two-and-a-half hours to beat Andy Roddick 6-7 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (2). Japan's Kei Nishikori also advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov. With his surprising run this week, which included a win over fourth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nishikori will become the highest-ranked Japanese player in ATP tour history. Currently ranked 47th, he is projected to rise to at least 32 beating Shuzo Matsuoka's previous best ranking of 46.
Feliciano Lopez defeated 15th-seeded Florian Mayer of Germany 6-2, 6-4, in just over an hour to set up an all-Spanish semifinal clash with Ferrer. Mayer had ousted Nadal in straight sets on Thursday.
- AP/APNZ
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