Zvonareva reaches Doha final

Second-seeded Vera Zvonareva survived a scare before coming back to beat Jelena Jankovic 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 Friday to set up a final against top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the Qatar Ladies Open.

With the scores level at 4-4 in the third set, Zvonareva was trailing 0-40 before she staged her comeback to take the game with five points in a row and then broke her opponent in the next game to reach her second final in Doha.

''I wasn't thinking about the score and was instead just focussing on the next point. In tennis, if you're trailing, especially in the decider, all that you need to do is to hang in there and give your best shot and that's precisely what I did,'' said Zvonareva, who had 27 winners in the match.

Jankovic did well after losing the first set to draw level in the second. The Serb who received on-court treatment in her quarterfinal win over Klara Zakopalova, seemed to be in more trouble when she slipped during a return in the first game of the third set. But the former top-ranked player came back strongly and her resilience came to the fore in the eighth game where she held her serve after 25 rallies. It was Jankovic's second semifinal defeat in as many weeks following her loss to Wozniacki in Dubai.

''It's always tough against Jelena (Jankovic). She's a great player, really aggressive and I'm quite excited over my victory. It was a great atmosphere out there and I really enjoyed (it),'' said the Russian, who had previously reached the final in Doha in 2008.

Earlier, Wozniacki stormed into the final with a 6-1, 6-1 rout of Marion Bartoli of France.

Wozniacki won her 13th career title in nearby Dubai last week and will have a shot at another on Saturday against Zvonareva.

Following a first-round bye, Wozniacki hasn't let up from Dubai in conceding only nine games in three matches.

Bartoli beat the Dane in their last two matches but Wozniacki rolled to 4-0, dropped serve, broke back and kept on going.

The semifinal ended for Bartoli when she hit a ball wide, the last of 23 unforced errors.

''It was important to start well and I played great tennis right throughout the tournament. I'm so happy to be in the final,'' Wozniacki said.

''I made her run very hard right from the start. I kept the level up and I'm hitting the ball very well.''