Radwanska, Wickmayer gain Auckland finals

AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Agnieszka Radwanska and Yanina Wickmayer on Friday earned spots in the finals of the ASB Classic tennis tournament in New Zealand.

Radwanska, the event's No. 1 seed and the No. 4-ranked player in the world, got by Jamie Hampton 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3) while the third-seeded Wickmayer stopped No. 8-seeded Mona Barthel 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-3). Both matches took about 1 hour, 45 minutes.

Radwanska took just five more points (89-84) over the course of the match, including a seven-point advantage in the two tiebreakers. She cashed in all three of her break chances.

Both players had a pair of breaks in the second set.

Barthel won more points (92-91) than Wickmayer on the day but that was because of the lopsided second set. Wickmayer managed just two breaks on the day and neither player claimed an edge in the third set until the tiebreaker.

Radwanska is looking for her 11th WTA championship. She won three of her five title appearances in 2012. Wickmayer is 3-5 in title matches but hasn't won since January 2010. She's 0-3 in her more recent finals. Radwanska and Wickmayer have split their two earlier WTA meetings.