Hsieh heads to Malaysian Open finals

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 3 (UPI) -- Qualifier Hsieh Su-Wei earned her first WTA finals appearance Saturday, but rain washed out the second semifinal at the BMA Malaysian Open.

The weather has been an issue through the week in Kuala Lumpur. Rains Saturday led organizers to postpone the semifinal between second-seeded Jelena Jankovic and No. 5-seeded Petra Martic to Sunday, ahead of the tournament finals.

Jankovic was to have played twice Saturday but her quarterfinal opponent, sixth-seeded Ayumi Morita, withdrew with a shoulder injury.

Eleni Daniilidou finished off a quarterfinal match with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 decision over Olivia Rogowska. Daniilidou had been ahead 6-2, 3-2 when rain forced a suspension Friday.

Hsieh took a spot in the semifinals when top-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska withdrew with an elbow injury. She topped Daniilidou 6-0, 4-6, 6-1 Saturday in collecting her first WTA finals slot. She has won 18 ITF events, however.

Hsieh didn't allow Daniilidou a break-point opportunity in the first or third sets when she won more than 70 percent of the points on serve. The match took nearly 5 hours to complete due to a pair of rain delays.

Jankovic will be looking for her first spot in a final since last August. Her most recent WTA title -- the 12th of her career -- was two years ago. Martic, like Hsieh, has never played in a WTA championship match.