Bank on Radwanska to win Classic at Stanford

   There are no certainties in sports -- other than daily arrests of NFL players.
   But Agnieszka Radwanska is about as close to a lock to beat Dominika Cibulkova in the Bank of the West Classic final today as possible. The match will be televised on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. PDT.
   Radwanska is 4-0 against Cibulkova and crushed her 6-0, 6-0 the last time they met, in the final at Sydney in January. It was the first shutout in a WTA final in more than six years and the first of Cibulkova's career.
   The top-seeded Radwanska, from Poland, reached the final with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over fourth-seeded Jamie Hampton of Atlanta on Saturday on a hardcourt at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Stadium. Hampton had beaten Radwanska 7-6 (2), 6-2 in the first round at Eastbourne on grass in June in their last meeting.
  The third-seeded Cibulkova, from Slovakia, eliminated fifth-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals.         
   Cibulkova, only 5-foot-3 (1.61 meters), said the Sydney match was closer than the score indicated.
    "Tennis is a lot about mentally," she told reporters. "If you will see that match, you will not believe it can be like that because I was putting pressure all the time. All the first six or seven games of that match, I had game point or break point, and I just couldn't make it.
   "It was like something really bad was happening. I was down 6-0, 3-0, and I was only thinking about one thing -- just to make one game, and it didn't happen. It was really bad."
   Recalling that match, Radwanska said: "Didn't really expect that, especially in the final. She was playing great matches in Sydney, and then suddenly I think she was a little bit too nervous in the final.
   "And then game by game, she was getting (frustrated) too much. But I don't think she's the kind of player what can do that again."
   Radwanska, ranked fourth, seeks her 13th career WTA singles title and third this year. She won Auckland and Sydney in her first two tournaments of the year.
   Cibulkova, ranked 25th, hopes to win her third career title and first in 2013. She captured Moscow in 2011 and Carlsbad last year.

BANK OF THE WEST CLASSIC

At Stanford

Singles semifinals

   Dominika Cibulkova (3), Slovakia, def. Sorana Cirstea (5), Romania, 6-4, 6-0.
   Agnieszka Radwanska (1), Poland, def. Jamie Hampton (4), United States, 6-3, 6-2.

Doubles semifinals

   Julia Goerges, Germany, and Darija Jurak (2), Croatia, def. Hao-Ching Chan, Taiwan, and Vera Dushevina (4), Russia, 6-4, 6-4.
   Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears (1), United States, def. Daniela Hantuchova, Slovakia, and Lisa Raymond (3), United States, 7-5, 6-2. 

Today's schedule

Stadium

(Starting at 3 p.m. PDT)

   Agnieszka Radwanska (1), Poland, vs. Dominika Cibulkova (3), Slovakia.
   Raquel Kops-Jones and Abigail Spears (1), United States, vs. Julia Goerges, Germany, and Darija Jurak (2), Croatia.