2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez reached her eighth career final as she staged a third-set comeback to beat world number 51 Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, where the 23-year-old Canadian will face Tereza Valentova, an 18-year-old qualifier from the Czech Republic, who came from a set down to Jaqueline Cristian from Romania. 6-7(3) 6-4 6-3.
Fernandez got off to a slow start to the Asian swing but she made up for that with a deep run in Osaka, beating American Hailey Baptiste, Hungarian qualifier Dalma Galfi and Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova without losing a set.
The No. 4 seed, the last remaining seed in Osaka, was broken in the very first game of the match against Cirstea but responded quickly to win the first set after collecting the next six games.
Cirstea had notably beaten Japanese wildcard Moyuka Uchijima, Britain’s Katie Boulter and Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic on their way to the Last Four, and it was the Romanian who had started on the front foot and achieved that early service break.
It was the only match Cirstea won in the opener, with a rampant Fernandez beating all others in a dominant display, losing just 8 points in 5 games.
However, winning the set proved much more difficult, but the Canadian finally got the job done on her fifth set point.
Looking to make a quick entry into the final, Fernandez had two break points to immediately take control of the second, but she failed to convert either, providing welcome momentum for 35-year-old Cirstea, who claimed back-to-back breaks to level the match at a set apiece.
After losing the set, the world number 27 found herself in more trouble, as Cirstea kept her positive momentum to steal a march on her opponent and went up 3–1 in the decider, but Fernandez managed to regain the break, and then, at 4–4, she broke the Romanian’s serve again for a 5–4 lead, before serving out for the match in the next game.
For the title at the Osaka WTA 500, Fernandez will face Valentova in what will be the Canadian’s second final of the year, having also made it to the WTA 500 in Washington at the end of July, where she defeated Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya in the final for her 4th WTA singles title.
If Fernandez wins Sunday’s final, she will not only win her second title of the year, but she will also overtake 24th-ranked Victoria Mboko as the top-ranked Canadian female tennis player.
Tereza Valentova, an 18-year-old qualifier, came from a set down to beat Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian and meet Leyhland Fernandez in the Japan Open final on Sunday
WTAtennis.com
Her opponent in the final, Tereza Valentova, had to get through qualifying to reach the main draw, and then knocked out Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, third-seeded Belgian Elise Mertens and Olga Danilovic, the eighth seed of Serbia, who reached the semi-finals, dropping just one set along the way.
It was a selection of high-calibre players who failed to beat the Czech, with next up world number 47 Cristian, who was given a walkover to the semi-finals after top seed Naomi Osaka was forced to withdraw with a left leg injury on Friday.
In the Last 4 on Saturday, against Cristian, the 18-year-old Czech was broken in the opening match of the match, losing the first set in a break, but she came back to win in 2 hours and 43 minutes to reach her first WTA final.
The first set alone lasted over an hour, with both trying to take the advantage from each other.
It started with three service breaks going Cristian’s way, and when Valentova took things to the next level, the Romanian broke again to put herself in a favorable position to close out the set, but she was unable to serve it out.
Valentova extended the first set, which culminated in a tiebreak as Cristian finally got the job done as she came within one set of her third senior WTA final.
With the second set on hold early, Valentova won three games on the trot to race to a 4-2 lead and stay in front despite the 27-year-old Romanian’s best efforts to erase the lead.
A decider was on the line, and it was Valentova, who made the most of her chances in a somewhat routine set, as she took a break at both the beginning and end and claimed her second match point to continue her phenomenal run in Osaka in a first meeting with Fernandez on Sunday.
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