Polish no. 1 Agnieszka Radwanska advanced to the finals of the Aegon Eastbourne International after a 3-set victory against Sloane Stephens of the United States. The former champion dismantled the American in three sets with a score of 6-1, 6-7 (3), 6-2.

Seeded ninth, Radwanska easily took the first set but was in a tight battle in the second. She was up 6-5 when Stephens broke her serve to set up a tiebreak which the American took. But the third set was all Radwanska who took the match after a mishit that went beyond Stephen's reach.

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"I'm very happy to be in this final again," said Radwanska as reported by ABC. "It's been a long time. Today it was so tough with the wind. It's the worst thing for players. It was a struggle form start to finish."

The 26-year-old, whose Eastbourne record is now at 13-7, will next face Belinda Bencic, the up-and-coming youngster who secured her place in the finals when Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark pulled out of the match with a back injury. Wozniacki was down 3 games in the first set when she called for a trainer and decided to withdraw from the match.

Wozniacki told ESPN that she had been experiencing back problems for the entire week. "It stiffened up more and I felt like I couldn't move the way I wanted to and felt pain," she said. The Dane, however, hopes to be ready for her first round match in less than a week at Wimbledon where she will face Saisai Zheng of China.

Meanwhile, Bencic, who's under the watch of former world no. 1 Martina Hingis, is on to her 2nd grass court tournament finals this year. Along the way, she defeated former champion Madison Keys, Canadian no. 1 Eugenie Bouchard, and British favorite Johanna Konta for a meetup with Radwanska. If Bencic wins, she will claim her first WTA singles title win after two final attempts in the past two years.

"I'm sorry for Caroline and it is an awkward situation, but she has to get ready for Wimbledon," Bencic was quoted by BBC after the match. "I'm happy but I wouldn't choose to win it this way."

TagsBelinda Bencic, eastbourne finals, wimbledon warmup, radwanska eastbourne, eastbourne tennis, aegon international, Saisai Zheng