TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, June 15 (UPI) -- Top seed Marie-Gaianeh Mikaelian of Switzerland and second seed Tatiana Poutchek of Belarus, both seeking their first career title, moved Saturday into the final of the Tashkent Open.
Mikaelian, ranked No. 52 in the world, routed Italy's Tathiana Garbin, 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals. Mikaelian has won eight consecutive sets after losing in a tiebreaker in the opening set of her first-round match with Yuliana Fedak of Ukraine.
The 18-year-old Mikaelian reached the semifinal here last year and made the final at Basel last August.
Poutchek got past Italian Roberta Vinci, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) in the other semifinal. The 23-year-old Poutchek, who is ranked No. 67, reached thesemifinals at Budapest in April and is in a final for the first time.
