Leylah Annie Fernandez will compete for yet another WTA 500 title in Asia.
The Canadian No. 2 defeated Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 7-5 in the Ningbo Open semifinals on Saturday, reaching her second-straight 500-level final following her Singapore triumph last month.
Fernandez had a tougher time holding serve against Bouzkova compared to her quarter-final win over Ekaterina Alexandrova. The 24-year-old from Laval faced 15 break points but managed to save ten, and immediately broke back on two occasions. The world No. 30 also held her fair share of break points as she converted eight of 18, closing out the opening set and the match on return.
The pressure was put on from the start as only two games in the first set didn’t feature a break point. Fernandez broke to love right out of the gates but couldn’t consolidate, keeping the set level early on at 1-1.
The Canadian turned things up a notch on return, though. From 2-2, Fernandez scored back-to-back breaks to give her two chances to serve out the opener at 5-2. The former world No. 13 failed to close out the set on the first try but didn’t need a second as she broke on her third set point at 3-5 to take a lead into the second.
The break frenzy continued in the new set, with both players combining for 11 break points through the opening five games. Unfortunately for Fernandez, her early 2-0 edge was cancelled out by two-consecutive losses of serve, before Bouzkova held to love for the 4-2 advantage.
Unfazed, Fernandez responded with another run of three-straight breaks. The Canuck broke from 4-3, 15-40, to equalize but was broken right back, giving Bouzkova the opportunity to serve for the second at 5-4. Fernandez made her push from there, winning seven-straight return points to extend the set and hold triple match point at 5-6, love-40. Bouzkova managed to save two, but the Czech’s forehand sailed long on the third attempt, sending Fernandez through to Sunday’s title match.
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The Canadian will now be in search of her first win against an acting-world No. 1 as she battles Elena Rybakina for the title. The Kazakhstani has won their last two meetings, but the two are split even across their four hard-court encounters.
Feature Photo: Huang Jinwen
