Chinese player, Zheng Qinwen, the top seed, defeated Russian player, Diana Shnaider, the No 6 seed, 7-6 (5), 6-3 to advance to the final of the Tokyo Open at the Ariake Coliseum on Saturday.
Zheng’s match against Shnaider lasted for 109 minutes, with the first set lasting over an hour. The set began with a double break by Zheng, but Shnaider managed to recover and force a tiebreaker, which the top seed won.
The second set saw Shnaider take the lead by breaking Zheng in the third game, but Zheng fought back and converted two break points in the fourth and sixth games to secure the victory.
Ranked No 7, Zheng will now face American wildcard Sofia Kenin in the final, with the two players having not met on the WTA Tour before.
Prior to her victory, the 22-year-old Chinese player defeated Japanese player Moyuka Uchijima (7-5, 6-0) and Canadian player Leylah Fernandez, the No 8 seed (6-0, 1-6, 6-3).
Shnaider, ranked No 16, had wins against Bulgarian player Viktoriya Tomova (6-2, 6-2) and Japanese qualifier Sayaka Ishii (W/O) earlier in the tournament.
Tokyo WTA 500, other semi-final result (Ariake Coliseum, hard, USD 922,573):
- Sofia Kenin beat Katie Boulter (9): 6-4, 6-4
