Peer, Zheng to meet in Suzhou Ladies Open final

SUZJOU, China, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Shahar Peer and Zheng Saisai used upset wins Friday to set up a meeting in the finals of the Caoxijiu Suzhou Ladies Open tennis tournament in China.

Peer ousted top-seeded Timea Babos 6-1, 6-3. Babos hadn't dropped a set in the first three rounds of the tournament but Peer quickly turned that around in the first set Friday.

Peer converted four break chances and allowed Babos just five points on serve. Peer won more than two-thirds of the points overall in the set. The second set was closer but Peer had three more breaks, giving her seven in eight receiving games on the day.

Zheng, who defeated fourth-seeded Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals, eliminated No. 2-seeded Misaki Doi 7-5, 6-2 in the semis. Zheng had five breaks and won more than half (32-of-63) of the points when Doi served. Zheng dropped just six points when serving in the second set.

Saturday will mark the first WTA final for Zheng while Peer is in her second final of the year, having finished the runner-up in Azerbaijan two weeks ago. She is 5-4 all-time in championship matches, with her most recent win coming in September 2009 in Uzbekistan.