Fifth seed Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic had to overcome a five-hour long delay due to heavy rain before routing Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-1, 6-2, to advance into the Sydney International final.

Once on the court, almost at midnight local time, Kvitova wasted no time and in 66 minutes stormed past Sasnovich, taking revenge for her 4-6, 6-4, 0-6 defeat to the Belarusian in the 2018 Wimbledon first round.

"It was worth the wait, definitely. I am really glad that we were able to get back on the court and play," the tournament website cited Kvitova as saying after the win on Friday night.

"I am happy for that, definitely, being in the final. Such a great achievement for me so far in the beginning of the season. So I am only taking everything positively," she added.

The 24-year-old Sasnovich had to wait until the fourth game to get onto the scoreboard, before eventually losing the following three games to give Kvitova, 28, a one-set lead in just 30 minutes, reports Efe news.

In the second set, Sasnovich managed to hold her first two serves for a 2-1 lead, but she lost the following five games as Kvitova took a further step toward her 26th career WTA title.

But before winning her 26th title, Kvitova has to face home favorite Ashleigh Barty, 22, who may be the first Australian to win the Sydney International since the all Australian 2005 championship match when Alicia Molik defeated Samantha Stosur.

--IANS

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