Radwanska sweats to reach Bank of West Classic semis

STANFORD (US): Top seeded Agnieszka Radwanska held off determined American Varvara Lepchenko 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-3 on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the WTA Bank of the West Classic.

Radwanska, ranked fourth in the world and seeking her third title of 2013 after triumphs in Auckland and Sydney, had to battle to subdue her 40th-ranked opponent in two hours and 14 minutes.

After Lepchenko had pocketed the second set to even the match, the two traded breaks in the first two games of the third. Lepchenko appeared to gain the upper hand when she broke Radwanska to love for a 3-2 lead, but Poland’s Radwanska won the next four games to capture the match.

Radwanska next faces fourth-seeded American Jamie Hampton, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Russian Vera Dushevina.

Third-seeded Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova defeated seventh-seeded Urszula Radwanska - younger sister of Agnieszka - 7-5, 6-3 to book a semi-final meeting with fifth-seeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

Cirstea advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Olga Govortsova of Belarus.

Cibulkova squandered a 5-1 lead in the first set before holding on for the straight-sets victory. –AFP