Errani thrills home crowd by reaching Rome final

Italy's Sara Errani returns a backhand to China's Na Li during their quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome on Friday. Sara Errani took advantage of a supportive crowd to beat second-seeded Li Na 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Friday and reach
Italy's Sara Errani returns a backhand to China's Na Li during their quarterfinal match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome on Friday. Sara Errani took advantage of a supportive crowd to beat second-seeded Li Na 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 Friday and reach
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AP, Rome :Sara Errani became the first home player to reach the Italian Open final in nearly 30 years with a 6-3, 7-5 win over sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic on Saturday.Using the vocal crowd support to her advantage, the 10th-seeded Errani fought back from a 4-2 deficit in the second set, while Jankovic appeared rattled as she continuously questioned line calls.Errani is attempting to become the first Italian to win the tournament since Raffaella Reggi took the 1985 title in Taranto.The last Italian man to win was Adriano Panatta back in 1976.Errani’s opponent in Sunday’s final will be either defending champion Serena Williams or 11th-seeded Ana Ivanovic, who were playing later.In the men’s semifinals, seven-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal meets Grigor Dimitrov and Novak Djokovic plays Milos Raonic.

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