Kuznetsova ends title drought

  MOSCOW — Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova ended her 14-month title drought with a straight sets win over compatriot Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the Kremlin Cup Saturday. At the joint WTA and ATP event in Moscow Kuznetsova, prevailed 6-2, 6-1 in one hour 18 minutes for her fourth win in five meetings with last year’s champion. “Deep down I always wanted to win this tournament,” Kuznetsova, whose last success was at the Washington Open in August 2014, said. “And I’ve always been very excited playing here in Moscow. “Finally, my dream’s come true. I’m really happy to win this particular title.” Two-time Grand Slam champion Kuznetsova dominated from the start, earning a one-set lead in 40 minutes as Pavlyuchenkova appeared tired after winning her eighth career title in Linz, Austria last week. In the second set Pavlyuchenkova, who has played three three-setters on her way to the final, ran out of gas allowing Kuznetsova, who has dropped only one set in four previous matches here, to gain a commanding 5-0 lead minutes before she claimed the set and the match. “Unfortunately I failed to recover to play on a normal level today,” Pavlyuchenkova said. “But anyway I’m proud to play in my second consecutive Kremlin Cup final.” In the ATP section, top seed and defending champion Marin Cilic cruised comfortably into the final with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Russian wild card Evgeny Donskoy. "Today I served much better than yesterday and it helped me a great deal," Cilic said. "The first set was more or less even. It was decided by just one break. Luckily, I was the guy who made it." In a repeat of last year's final Cilic will face second seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who ousted Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, the fourth seed, 6-4, 6-4.

Berdych in semis

Top seed and defending champion Tomas Berdych beat Grigor Dimitrov to book a place in the Stockholm Open semifinals, his powerful serve helping to secure a 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Bulgarian. The Czech next meets 2009 winner Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus who defeated Gilles Muller 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3 in an error-strewn clash during which the eighth seed from Luxembourg smashed his racket in frustration. In a repeat of last year’s final, Berdych gained the upper hand against Dimitrov when he broke serve in the 11th game of the first set. World No. 5 Berdych survived a late scare in the final game of the match, saving a break point before a couple of booming serves put the contest out of reach. “My serve was working well today and in the tough moments I was able to help myself a lot with the serve,” Berdych said after landing 86 percent of first serve points. Earlier, 23-year-old American Jack Sock upset third-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-5 7-6 (5). “I played more aggressive tennis in the middle of the second to get it back. With my style I try to come forward as much as I can and I was able to do that there at the end of the second,” Sock said. His semifinal opponent Saturday is another Frenchman, second seed Richard Gasquet, who overcame compatriot Jeremy Chardy 2-6 6-3 7-6 (4). “It was a little difficult, but I tried to fight and played very good in the tie-break and didn’t make a mistake. It was a good match for me,” Gasquet said. “Jeremy has a very good serve and very good forehand so I need to play my best tennis to win.”

Doi upsets Jankovic

Misaki Doi of Japan upset fifth-seeded Jelena Jankovic of Serbia 7-6 (4), 7-5 to reach her first Tour semifinal this season at the Luxembourg Open Friday. The 92nd-ranked Doi, who rallied from a break down twice in the third set to get past fourth-seeded Andrea Petkovic in the first round, broke Jankovic four times to set up a semifinal against Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium. Van Uytvanck, a quarterfinalist at the French Open this year, beat seventh-seeded Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4. The other semifinal at the indoor tournament will pit together Mona Barthel of Germany and Switzerland’s Stefanie Voegele. Barthel eased past Mirjana Lucic-Baroni of Croatia, 6-3, 6-4 while Voegele progressed with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 win over German Laura Siegemund. — Agencies