Radwanska receives ranking boost with Shenzhen win

The Pole, currently ranked fifth, prevailed 6-2 6-4 to set up a Saturday showdown with American Alison Riske, who beat Hungary's Timea Babos by the same scoreline in the other semi-final between two unseeded players.

(Reuters)

The ranking boost takes Radwanska above Russia's Maria Sharapova ahead of the Australian Open, which gets underway on Jan. 18 in Melbourne.

"Reaching the final here is great preparation for the Australian Open, and that's a good projection too," Radwanska said of the new ranking which will be confirmed on Monday.

"First I'll focus on winning here in Shenzhen, and then I'll just try to play the same tennis in Sydney and in Melbourne."

(Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)