After Cibulkova came back in the tiebreaker to pull out the first set, she dominated the second set over a visibly tired Petrova to reach her second final of the season.

"The key why I won the match was after she was up 4-0 (in the tiebreak), I just said to myself, `I don't want to give it up. I just want to make it as tough as I can for her,'" Cibulkova said.

The fourth-seeded Petrova called for the trainer for heat illness at the end of the tiebreaker.

"I was trying to not pay attention to her," Cibulkova said. "I saw in the last game of the match that she was running, so it's good that I didn't pay attention to her."

Cibulkova, looking for her first title of the season, will face either top-seeded Marion Bartoli of France or qualifier Chan Yung-Jan of Taiwan in Sunday's final.

Cibulkova broke Petrova's serve to start the second set and ran out to a 4-0 lead for her third consecutive straight-set victory. Petrova won only 12 points in the second set.

Petrova served for the first set at 6-5, but Cibulkova broke back on a backhand passing shot.