Lucic’s run ends in semis

Mirjana Lucic almost completed her improbable journey of reaching the Lexus of Las Vegas Open championship before tiring in the semifinals.

The 27-year-old native of Croatia, making a comeback after leaving tennis almost five years ago, lost to unseeded Aniko Kapros of Hungary 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Saturday at Red Rock Country Club.

Kapros, who came close to having her serve broken by Lucic on several occasions in the first and third sets, advanced to today's 11 a.m. finals against third-seeded Regina Kulikova of Russia. Kulikova eliminated second-seeded American Shenay Perry, 6-4, 6-3.

Kapros also will play for the doubles championship today, after she teamed with Agustina Lepore of Argentina to defeat Henderson resident Asia Muhammad and fellow American Coco Vandeweghe 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday's semifinals. Kapros and Lepore will play Kimberly Couts and Lindsay Lee-Waters of the United States in the doubles final, scheduled for 1 p.m.

For Lucic, the ending was bittersweet to what had been an amazing week. She had to qualify for the main draw by winning three matches, then reached the semifinals with three more wins, two of which went the three-set distance, all while playing with a heavily taped right thigh.

"I gradually played better throughout the week, but I was physically exhausted, and it took its toll," Lucic said of her semifinal match, which took 2 hours, 22 minutes to complete. "But I had a great time, and it was a good feeling to come out here and play well."

Lucic was ranked No. 32 on the WTA Tour, though that was 11 years ago.

Kapros also was playing hurt after suffering shin splints in her quarterfinal win over Madison Brengle on Friday. Twice against Lucic, Kapros called for the trainer to tape her right leg for support.

But she fought through the pain.

"I'm hurting right now, but it feels wonderful to be in the final," Kapros said. "I knew it was going to be tough, because Mirjana is such a good player. I just tried to keep my unforced errors to a minimum."

Kapros will need to employ a similar strategy against Kulikova, who did little wrong in defeating Perry, who won the USTA Pro Circuit tournament last week in Albuquerque, N.M.

Kulikova broke Perry in the first set and combined a strong serve and heavy, flat groundstrokes to pick up the victory. Even the wind, gusting through most of the match, was not a factor for Kulikova.

"I was trying to be aggressive and put some pressure on her," Kulikova said. "I've been able to play very steady all week, and I was able to win the big points."

Despite being hampered by a strained lower back, Kulikova served well and dominated the rallies. She was helped by getting up an early break in both sets, limiting her time spent on the court.

Today's final might come down to who can best manage their injuries. Kapros and Kulikova are far from 100 percent physically, and the tournament trainer can expect to be busy.

"I think I've got one more (match) left in me, but right now, I'm pretty sore," Kulikova said.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.