Tennis: Mauresmo to meet Safina in the Open Gaz de France final

The two France-Russia semi-finals in the Open Gaz de France on Saturday resulted in a split. Second-seeded Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo reached the final for the second time in three years with a 7-5 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova. But 17-year-old Tatiana Golovin could not make it an all-French final, falling 6-1 4-6 7-6 (7-2) to Dinara Safina, the sister of Russian ATP Tour star Marat Safin.

Mauresmo, who lost in the 2003 final to American Serena Williams, is seeking her 16th career title and second here. She also captured this tournament in 2001. Safina reached her first final since Luxembourg last year and is chasing her third career WTA Tour title. Golovin, considered one of the up-and-coming players on the WTA Tour, was seeking her first career title and second appearance in a final. She also reached the semi-finals here a year ago.

The tournament lost two of its best players earlier in the week as Williams, the top seed, pulled out Friday due to a stomach flu and third seed Maria Sharapova of Russia withdrew on Wednesday due to a respiratory problem.

Sportinglife