Top seed Bertens in Nuremberg final again after Doi retires

BERLIN (Reuters) - Top seed and defending champion Kiki Bertens moved into the Nuremberg Cup final on Friday after Japan's Misaki Doi retired with an abdominal injury early in the second set.

The Dutch world number 19 has enjoyed a successful claycourt season in the build up to the French Open which starts on Sunday. She reached the quarter-finals in Madrid and the last four in Rome.

"I had some tough weeks with a lot of matches so I came in with a lot of confidence. I really wanted to play well here," the 25-year-old Bertens, who was leading 6-2 0-1 when her opponent quit, said. "I am happy to be in the final again."

On Saturday she will face 21-year-old Czech qualifier Barbora Krejcikova. The 254th-ranked Krejcikova continued her winning run this week with a 6-4 4-6 6-0 victory over Romanian Sorana Cristea in just under two hours.

(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Pritha Sarkar)