India's Sania Mirza upset eighth seed Sybille Bammer 6-2 5-7 6-3 to reach the final of the Stanford Classic on Saturday. The unseeded 20-year-old, whose only Tour title came in Hyderabad in 2005, outfought the Austrian under the hot sun in two hours and 14 minutes.
Mirza will face top seed Anna Chakvetadze, who overcame third seed Daniela Hantuchova 6-7 6-3 6-2. "It was about mental strength," Mirza told reporters. "It's a great way to start the hard court season. I've had good wins here and I'm hitting the ball well."
Mirza began the match crushing her huge forehand and powering her backhand crosscourt. But in the second set, she began to play more conservatively and paid for it. She was broken four times, the last one in the final game, when she committed a forehand error on set point.
In the third set, Mirza broke Bammer to 4-3 when she ripped a forehand down the line and the Indian won the match when she hit a forehand crosscourt winner on her fourth match point.
"I said I have to hang in there and I did," Mirza said. "At this level when it's 3-3 in the third set, whoever is mentally tougher and comes up with shots at deuce and 40-30 when it matters the most will come out the winner."
Bammer said Mirza, who equalled her career-high ranking of 31 by making the final, has the potential to make the top ten. "She has the fastest forehand on tour," Bammer said. "She can only go forward from here."
Chakvetadze recorded her ninth straight victory in the United States after out-running Hantuchova, who troubled the Russian with some aggressive groundstrokes.
But Chakvetadze began to spot her serve better in the second set and gained control of the match. "We both played well, but I was more consistent in the last two sets," Chakvetadze told reporters.
"I had so many opportunities. I'm so tired because she made me run a lot. I knew I had to play more aggressive." Chakvetadze has a 2-0 record against Mirza, including her semi-final victory in Cincinnati last week.
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