Pavlyuchenkova to face Begu in Moscow final

MOSCOW - Sixth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia beat Katerina Siniakova in straight sets Saturday to set up a Kremlin Cup final against Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania.

Pavlyuchenkova dominated the Czech qualifier from start to finish, winning 6-2, 6-2 to reach her 10th career final on the WTA tour.

Earlier, Begu battled to a 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

Begu enters her first final since beating Donna Vekic in Tashkent in 2012.

In the crowd was Russian tennis chief and tournament chairman Shamil Tarpischev, despite the WTA saying Friday he would be banned for a year after making derogatory comments about Serena and Venus Williams.