Defending champion Kiki Bertens reaches Nuremberg Cup final

NUREMBERG, Germany (AP) Defending champion Kiki Bertens advanced to the final of the Nuremberg Cup on Friday when Misaki Doi became the sixth player to retire from the clay-court tournament.

Bertens was leading 6-2, 0-1 when Doi retired with a right abdominal injury. The 64th-ranked Japanese player had progressed in the first round and quarterfinals when injuries forced Maria Sakkari and then Yaroslava Shvedova to retire.

Laura Siegemund, Eugenie Bouchard and Alexandra Cadantu also withdrew with injuries from the French Open warmup.

Bertens, who defeated Mariana Duque-Marino 6-2, 6-2 in last year's final, will defend her title on Saturday against either Czech qualifier Barbora Krejcikova or Sorana Cirstea of Romania.

The Dutch player has a 12-1 all-time win-loss record in Nuremberg.