Top seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus advanced to the final of the $795,000 WTA Southern California Open on Saturday, where she'll face fifth-seeded Australian Samantha Stosur. Azarenka, just three days past her 24th birthday, defeated seventh-seeded Serbian Ana Ivanovic 6-0, 4-6, 6-3. Stosur battled back from a 0-4 first-set deficit en route to a 7-6 (7/2) 6-3 victory over France's Virginie Razzano.
Azarenka, the two-time defending Australian Open champion, showed no sign of the right knee injury that forced her out of Wimbledon after the first round.
Ivanovic, like Azarenka a former world number one, rallied after failing to win a game in the first set. But Azarenka gained a pivotal break at 2-2 in the third and went on to secure her third straight victory over the Serbian.
"It was an interesting match," Azarenka said. "The first set, the score definitely doesn't tell the whole story because there was a lot of close games. In the second set I missed couple easy shots and she was right there to take those opportunities. I thought I let her into the match. Azarenka will be seeking a 17th career title, and third of the season, when she takes on Stosur, the 2011 US Open winner.
Stosur, meanwhile, has reached her first final of the season, and will be vying for her first title since her US Open triumph. History is not on her side. She has never beaten Azarenka in eight career meetings.