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Sharapova, who returned to the tour in April
following a 15-month doping ban, will meet teenaged Belarusian
Aryna Sabalenka, who is ranked 102 and made her first WTA final
after beating Italy's Sara Errani 6-1 6-3 in the other
semi-final.
The Russian, who is currently ranked 86, broke her Chinese
opponent in the opening game and rarely looked troubled on her
own serve.
Peng, ranked number 25 in the world, had no answer to
Sharapova's power hitting from the baseline and gave up another
break en route to conceding the first set.
Sharapova, who is yet to drop a set in Tianjin, raced into a 3-0
lead at the start of the second but suffered a brief bout of
nerves while serving for the fifth game, when she was forced to
save three break points.
The 30-year-old turned the tables on Peng in the very next game,
breaking her opponent once again before closing out the contest
in 78 minutes.
It will be Sharapova's first WTA final since she defeated
Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro to win the Italian Open in May
2015.
(Writing by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto
Ganguly)
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