Swiss through to final of Basel PreCon Open

Switzerland's Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian defeated Israel's Anna Smashnova in Basel Keystone Archive

Switzerland's Marie-Gaiane Mikaelian has defeated Israel's Anna Smashnova in the semi-final of the Basel PreCon Ladies Open tennis tournament. Mikaelian goes on to face the Czech player Adriana Gersi in the final on Sunday.

Mikaelian, who disposed of Smashnova in two sets 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday, has delighted home fans since the start of the event with a surprising run of wins.

The 17-year-old Swiss player, ranked 175 in the WTA standings, breezed past top-seeded Silvia Farina in the opening round. The Italian was forced to abandon halfway through the match due to heat exhaustion.

Mikaelian then went on to beat Slovakia’s seventh-seeded Daniela Hantuchova, who lost Friday’s quarter-final match 7-6, 7-6.

In Sunday’s final, Mikaelian will face the Czech Adriana Gersi, who defeated Spain’s Cristina Torrens-Valero in three sets, 4-6, 7-6, 7-5, on Saturday.

“Once again, I’ll have to be very patient, and remain focused from the start to the end of the game,” says Mikaelian.

The prize money for the winner of the PreCon Ladies Open is $140,000.

swissinfo with agencies