Kirilenko cruises into Korea final

SEOUL, South Korea -- Rising Russian tennis star Maria Kirilenko will face top seed Venus Williams in Sunday's final of the Korea Open.

The fourth seed beat defending champion Elena Daniilidou of Greece 7-5 6-0 in her semifinal on Saturday to reach her second final in successive weeks.

The 20-year-old, who claimed the Kolkata Open title in India last weekend, won the first three games of the match but then lost the next three before regaining composure to take the opening set.

Kirilenko, whose other WTA Tour victory was at the 2005 China Open, will face an opponent who has also not dropped a set this week in Seoul.

Williams, in her first tournament since the U.S. Open, convincingly won her semifinal 6-2 6-2 against Italy's Flavia Pennetta -- the only unseeded player to reach the last four.

The American, who has been hampered by a calf problem, was broken in her opening service game and then trailed 40-15 before breaking back in a commanding fashion.

The 27-year-old Wimbledon champion, ranked ninth in the world after ending an injury-hit 2006 at a lowly 46th, will be seeking her 36th career title and her third this year.

"My leg's not feeling great but it's getting better every day,"' Williams said.

Serbian second seed Ana Ivanovic will play Daniela Hantuchova in the final of the Fortis Championships in Luxembourg on Sunday after convincing semi-final wins.

Slovakian Hantuchova accounted for Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli of France 6-2 6-2. Bartoli upset the top seed Anna Chakvetadze in the quarter-finals but had little answer to the fourth seed on Saturday.

Ivanovic, who has made such an impression on the WTA Tour this season, dispatched Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-4 6-2. E-mail to a friend

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