Ivanovic, Schnyder to vie for Linz title

LINZ, Austria, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Serbia's Ana Ivanovic and Patty Schnyder of Switzerland will meet for the Generali Ladies Linz championship after both took semifinal wins Saturday.

No. 7 seed Ivanovic posted a 6-3, 7-5 triumph over Roberta Vinci of Italy in the first semifinal. With the victory, she gained her first final of the season and will seek to notch her first title since the 2008 Linz event.

Ivanovic, a former world No. 1, has largely struggled this year. She has gained the semis in Brisbane, Rome and Cincinnati and lost in the quarterfinals of the China Open last week to eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki.

In Saturday's other semifinal, Schnyder downed sixth-seeded German Andrea Petkovic in a tense 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 match.

Schnyder lost in the Linz finals in 2005 and 2007 and is 11-15 all-time in WTA Tour title matches. The 31-year-old veteran has split eight all-time match-ups with Ivanovic, with the Serb taking the last four.