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.
