Sat Jul 19 13:32:40 2008

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Parmentier, Hradecka survive long day in Austria

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Bad Gastein, Austria (Sports Network) - Pauline Parmentier of France and Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka each won a pair of matches on Saturday and will play for the title at the Gastein Ladies tennis event.

Rain during the week forced the women to play both quarterfinal and semifinal matches on Saturday.

The fourth-seeded Parmentier knocked off crowd favorite Yvonne Meusburger of Austria in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, then eliminated top-seeded Agnes Szavay of Hungary in the semis, 6-4, 6-2.

Hradecka also sent an Austrian packing in the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over wild card Patricia Mayr, before toppling Mariya Koryttseva of the Ukraine, 6-3, 6-2.

Parmentier will play in a WTA singles final for the second time in her career. The 22-year-old prevailed in her only other title match, beating Victoria Azarenka in Tashkent last October.

Hradecka reached a WTA singles final for the first time. She had been a loser in the first round of each of her first two WTA tournaments this year. The 23- year-old is ranked just 237th in singles, but does have four career doubles titles, including one this year.

The winner of this event will collect $28,000.