Rachel Homan to face Russia in final of curling worlds

Anna Sidorova's Russian rink overwhelmed their Swedish opponents in Saturday's semifinal at the world women's curling championships in Beijing.

Sidorova took a 9-3 win in eight ends to book her spot in the final against Canada's Rachel Homan.

Russia scored three in the seventh end before stealing another triple in the eighth, forcing Sweden's Anna Hasselborg to shake hands.

"I still can't believe it," Sidorova said. "Coming second in the round-robin made history for our team, and I'm so proud that we can now represent Russia in the final. It's only one year to the Olympic Games and it's been a really rough year for my team, so we needed that win to believe in ourselves.

"I'm so proud of the performance my team showed today."

Canada defeated Russia 10-9 in round-robin play and again by a score of 7-3 in the Page playoff 1-2 match on Friday. Homan's Ottawa rink has rattled off 12 straight wins in search of their first world title.

Homan won bronze in her world women's championship debut in 2013 in Riga, Latvia, before taking silver in Saint John, N.B., the following year.