Intro:

Maria Sharapova lost to Ana Ivanovic in Rome and Cincinnati but broke the pattern in Beijing. She'll now play Petra Kvitova for the China Open title.

Script:

Maria Sharapova fended off a late surge from Ana Ivanovic to snap a two-match losing streak against the Serb and move into the final of the China Open.

Ivanovic had beaten Sharapova in their last two meetings, in Rome and in Cincinnati. But Sharapova was determined to break that unwanted record, coming out of the blocks on fire and storming to a 6-0 lead.

In the second, Ivanovic broke back at love to get back to one all. But fourth seed Sharapova broke one last time for 5-4 and closed it out, 6-1, 6-4, after a marathon 10-minute final game.

Sharapova will take on No.3 seed Petra Kvitova, who won her semi-final earlier in the day.

Sharapova leads Kvitova in their head-to-head series, 5-2, which includes winning their last four meetings in a row and the last three in straight sets. The last time they played was earlier this year on Miami's hardcourts, with Sharapova winning in straight sets.