Kruger siblings gear up for Wiphold International doubles final

Isabella and Zoe Kruger will be eager to lift the trophy on Saturday after being handed a place in the doubles final at the WIPHOLD International in Pretoria.

The South African siblings won their first-round match earlier in the week before being given a walkover in the quarterfinals after American player Clervie Ngounoue was forced to withdraw from the ITF World Tennis Tour W50 tournament due to illness.

In another stroke of luck, the Kruger sisters got another walkover on Friday after French player Alyssa Reuger and Belgian partner Amelia Waligora withdrew ahead of their semifinal.

The SA pairing will face Alina Charaeva and Ekaterina Reyngold in the final on Saturday, with the Russian duo having defeated compatriots Anastasia Kovaleva and Ekaterina Shalimova 6-2 7-5 in their semifinal clash.

In the singles competition, top seed Laura Pigossi of Brazil beat Manon Leonard of France 6-2 6-1, and Hanne Vandewinkel of Belgium stunned No 2 seed Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic with a hard-fought 7-5 6-7 7-6 victory in the semifinals.

"I played against a really good player today (Leonard) but I knew her game and I studied it, and I think I played perfectly tactically, so I'm really happy with the way I played and really happy to be in the final," Pigossi said.

"I just have to keep focusing on myself. I'm playing well and I'm feeling confident, so I just want to bring that into the final."

Pigossi and 19-year-old Vandewinkel will compete in the final on Saturday, scheduled to start at 10am.