Cibulkova eases into New Haven final

New York - Second seed Dominika Cibulkova powered into her first WTA final of the year on Friday with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens in New Haven, Connecticut.

Slovakia's Cibulkova will face either top seed and defending champion Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland or Australian Daria Gavrilova in Saturday's title match in the final WTA tournament before the US Open begins on Monday.

Friday night's match will be the first meeting between world number 10 Radwanska and 26th-ranked Gavrilova.

"It's always very exciting to play someone for the first time after so many years on tour," Radwanska said.

Cibulkova, the world number 11 who is chasing her ninth career title, needed just 69 minutes to subdue Mertens, ranked 47th in the world.

Results from WTA tournament at New Haven, Connecticut, on Friday:

Semi-finals

Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x2) bt Elise Mertens (BEL) 6-1, 6-3