Cibulkova to play Vekic in Malaysian Open final

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) Top-seeded Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia overcame a fighting Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals of the Malaysian Open on Saturday.

Cibulkova won her second successive match from a set down and will play seventh-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia in Sunday's final.

Cibulkova, who reached the final of the Australian Open, was tested by the big serves of third-seeded Pliskova, who slammed in 17 aces during the 2 1/2-hour match.

In the other semifinal, Vekic rallied to beat second-seeded Shuai Zhang of China 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Vekic, the 17-year-old who knocked out fourth-seeded Patricia Mayr-Achleitner of Austria in the quarterfinals, continued her fine run as she saved six break points and won in 1 1/2 hours.