Van Uytvanck to play Cirstea in Tashkent Open final

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (AP) — Alison Van Uytvanck will aim to win her second WTA title of the season when she faces Sorana Cirstea in the final of the Tashkent Open.

The third-seeded Van Uytvanck beat Kristyna Pliskova 6-3, 7-5 in Friday’s semifinals. It’s the first time in her career that Belgium’s Van Uytvanck has played two finals in a season. She’s won all of her three previous career finals, most recently when retaining her Budapest title in February.

Cirstea needed just 51 minutes to wrap up her semifinal win 6-0, 6-3 against Katarina Zavatska.

Cirstea is bidding for a second Tashkent title, 11 years after her last. The Romanian has never won another WTA event and hasn’t contested a final since losing to Serena Williams in Toronto six years ago.