Sharapova set for title repeat
AFP, Birmingham
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova closed in on her second successive Birmingham WTA title on Saturday with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over last year's runner-up Tatiana Golovin. The 18-year-old Russian will face 20-year-old Jelena Jankovic, of Serbia and Montenegro, the third seed who breezed through to her third tour final with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Laura Granville of the United States. Jankovic lost to Sharapova in the first round of the US Open last year and was also beaten by the Russian at the quarterfinal stage in Beijing. Sharapova said she will spend the week before Wimbledon enjoying a week off in London as she seeks to shake off a cold and ease the aches and pains caused by the transition from French clay to the grass of Birmingham.
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