Vienna, June 14: Karolina Sprem upset second-seeded Vera Zvonareva 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 Friday to advance to the final of a $170,000 Grand Prix event. She will play Paola Suarez of Argentina, who beat Anca Barna of Germany 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
Sprem said rain and falling temperatures hurt her game. In five minutes, the temperature dropped from 95 to 68 degrees. The increasingly wet court slowed down her strong forehand.
"It was very hard to play. First we had sun, then wind, then rain," she said. "But I won, so what more would I want?"
The Croatian has been impressive in the tournament, beating defending champion Anna Pistolesi of Israel and seventh-seeded Denisa Chladkova on her way to the semifinals.

But Zvonareva was tough. Zvonareva, who upset Venus Williams in the French Open, won the first set in 37 minutes. After a 15-minute rain break in the second set, Sprem took control, pulling out the win in a tight third set.



Suarez used her backhand cross to wear down Barna and wrap up the win.



"My tennis here has been good so far, so I am hopeful for the final," Suarez said. "Anca showed a lot of passion and her balls were very long, so it was quite tough."


Bureau Report