Sania Mirza is just a step away from winning her first WTA title this year. The Indian ace and her American partner Vania King were handed a walkover that enabled them enter the doubles final at the Morocco Open in Fes.
The top-seeded Sania-Vania pair will take on second seeds Andreea Ehritt-Vanc (Romania) and Anastasia Rodionova (Russia) in the final.
Sania and Vania were supposed to face off against Camille Pin and Milagros Sequera but the semi-final match could not take place as the French-Venezuelan pair pulled out complaining of illness.
"Vania and I were supposed to play against Sequera and Pin, but after they played their singles quarter-finals they were both very sick. I think the heat really got to them; hopefully they're better soon," Sania said.
The Indian ace, who is out of the singles competition following a shock first-round defeat, said she is expecting a tough final against the experienced second seeded duo because of the hot conditions.
"It'll be pretty hot and dry at that time, which will be tough. I've never played Andreea; I've played Anastasia a few times but she wasn't with the same partner. They are both very experienced players though and have both been around a long time," she said.
"They've also been playing together a lot this year, whereas Vani and I are playing for the first time; so it should be interesting. We'll just have to play our game and not worry about them. I'm just very excited," she added.