Errani advances to final at Pattaya
Eighth-seeded Sara Errani beat fifth-seeded Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-4 in the all-Italian semifinal at the Pattaya Open on Saturday.
Vinci made 29 unforced errors as Errani reached her first final since losing to Dinara Safina in Portoroz in 2009.
The 23-year-old Errani said it was difficult to play her best friend on the WTA circuit.
Vinci held serve for 1-1 before Errani won five straight games and took the set after Vinci hit a forehand to the net.
In the second set, Vinci lost the fifth game before breaking back to 3-3. Play went with serve before Vinci hit a backhand error to give Errani a 5-4 lead.
Two-time defending champion Vera Zvonareva plays fourth-seeded Daniela Hantuchova in the other semifinal later Saturday.