Santangelo, Shvedova in Bangalore final

BANGALORE, India, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Mara Santangelo moved one step closer to consecutive India tennis tournament titles Saturday by beating Olga Savchuk at the Sony Ericsson International.

The top seed will meet Russian Yaroslava Shvedova in the final. Shvedova, 19, beat Israeli Tzipora Obziler 7-5, 6-2 to reach the championship match.

Santangelo, an Italian, posted a 6-1, 6-0 victory over the Ukrainian Savchuk. The defending champion won her ninth straight match at the KSLTA Signature Kingfisher Tennis Center.

Santangelo defeated Croat Jelena Kostanic Tosic in last year's final.