Zvonareva, Radwanska into Tokyo final
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By Alastair Himmer
TOKYO (Reuters) - Fourth seed Vera Zvonareva bundled Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova out of the Pan Pacific Open with a 7-6 6-0 victory on Friday to book a place in the Tokyo finals.
"I don't even remember I was 5-1 down," Zvonareva told reporters after overcoming a poor start against Czech Kvitova.
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"I wasn't thinking about it, just trying to find my rhythm and I couldn't find it in the beginning.
"But slowly I got into the match and started making the shots I usually make and was able to turn it around."
Kvitova had reached the last four after Maria Sharapova twisted her ankle in Thursday's first set in a rematch of their Wimbledon final.
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But her game suddenly fell apart after a blazing start against Zvonareva, who moved through the gears and brutally swatted her aside in brilliant sunshine.
Zvonareva tore through the first set tiebreak, a weak forehand volley into the net by Kvitova gift-wrapping it to the Russian 7-2.
The second set was embarrassingly one-sided, Kvitova appearing in a hurry to reach the locker room as she dumped another backhand into the net on match point.
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"I don't know what happened," a dejected Kvitova said.
"If I knew what happened I would tell you. That first set was mine for sure."
U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur and world number one Caroline Wozniacki were among early upsets at the $2.05 million event, before Tokyo favorite Sharapova hobbled out.
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Lacking in star quality after the spate of casualties, Tokyo's cavernous Ariake Colosseum was around half full when Radwanska finally put away third seed Azarenka.
"It was a really tough match," Radwanska said. "She put up a hard fight... I'm just glad I was able to pull it out in the third set."
(Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)