Mirza earns finals showdown with top seed Chakvetadze

Sania Mirza will play in the final(Action Images / Krishnendu Halder) Mirza earns finals showdown with top seed Chakvetadze STANFORD, California, July 28, 2007 (AFP) - India's Sania Mirza reached the final of the 600,000-dollar WTA Bank of the West Classic on Saturday with a three-set victory over eighth-seeded Sybille Bammer. Mirza topped Austria's Bammer - her third seeded victim in a row - 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. In the final she'll get a shot at top-seeded Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who beat third-seeded Slovakian Daniel Hantuchova 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 6-2 Mirza, ranked 35th in the world, reached her first final since Forest Hills in August of 2005. Before beating Bammer, the 20-year-old had ousted fourth-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the quarter-finals and sixth-seeded Tatiana Golovin of France in the second round. "It's a great start to the hardcourt season," Mirza said. "I've had great wins here and I'm starting to hit the ball better." Mirza, who seems fully recovered from a knee injury that sidelined her for almost 2 1/2 months earlier this year, earned a key break in the third set to take a 4-3 advantage. After holding serve to get to 5-3, Mirza broke Bammer again to secure the win. "I tried to be more aggressive in the third set and play like I did in the first set," she said. "I started to feel tired late in the second set and then I regrouped. It was all mental. I told myself to hang in there and I did." "In the second set she was a little shaky, a little nervous," Bammer said. "But in the third set she played great tennis. She played deep and I couldn't move her." This will be Mirza's first Tier II final appearance. In her only career singles win, she captured the title at Hyderabad (Tier IV) in 2005 and became the first player from India to win a WTA title. In Chakvetadze she'll face a player who has won eight consecutive hardcourt matches and is in position to capture her second straight singles title. She claimed her fifth career title and third this season on Sunday at Cincinnati. Ranked eighth in the world, the 20-year-old also has claimed titles at Hobart and 's-Hertogenbosch this season.