Rezai upsets Sharapova in Istanbul semis

ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 25 (UPI) -- Aravane Rezai earned her first tournament finals berth with a straight-set upset of top-seeded Maria Sharapova in the $200,000 Istanbul Cup tennis tournament.

Rezai, ranked 59th in the world, will face No. 2-seed Elena Dementieva in Saturday's tournament finals on a clay court.

Rezai didn't have an easy route to the title match, ousting Venus Williams earlier in the week before drawing Sharapova in the semifinals. But she swept past Sharapova, 6-2, 6-4, to reach her first championship match.

Dementieva defeated fifth-seeded Alona Bondarenko 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 on Friday to advance to the finals.

Dementieva has played -- and beaten -- Rezai once in her career and is looking for her seventh WTA championship.