Hobart upset string continues for Barthel

HOBART, Australia, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Mona Barthel on Friday posted her third consecutive upset and will face No. 1-seeded Yanina Wickmayer in the finals of the Moorilla International in Australia.

Barthel, a tournament qualifier, added fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber to her list of upsets this week with a 6-0, 7-6 (8-6) win in Friday's semifinals.

She ripped through the first set, taking 75 percent of the points and losing just three on serve, and then held on through the tiebreaker in picking up her first WTA finals spot. Barthel has won five ITF events, however.

Barthel beat second-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues in the second round and ousted fifth-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova, the tournament's defending champion, in Thursday's quarterfinals.

Wickmayer was a 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 winner over No. 6-seeded Shahar Peer in her semifinal. She dropped all three of the break points she faced but managed five breaks in Peer's 11 service games.

Wickmayer won the only previous time she played Barthel, winning a 2010 match in straight sets. She is 3-3 in tournament finals, with her most recent title coming in 2010 in New Zealand.