Hong Kong Open: Boulter passes the Yuan test to make final
Katie Boulter won against Yuan Yue on Saturday and will play the winner of the match between Diana Shnaider and Leylah Fernandez next
Second seed Katie Boulter reached the final of the Hong Kong Open by winning against Chinese Yuan Yue, the No 6 seed, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 at Victoria Park, Causeway Bay on Saturday.
Boulter had to fight long and hard against Yuan as their semi-final clash extended to two hours, 37 minutes. The duo exchanged a total of 21 break point threats, with the Chinese converting thrice and the eventual winner twice as many.
This will be the Brit’s third final for the season. She has already claimed titles in Nottingham and San Diego this year.
Boulter, ranked No 29, will face the winner of the match between Russian Diana Shnaider, the top seed, and Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the No 3 seed, next.
Katie Boulter beat Japanese Aoi Ito (6-4, 6-4), Chinese Xiyu Wang (7-6 (7), 6-4) and Russian Anastasia Zakharova (6-4, 6-0) in the previous rounds of the Hong Kong tournament.
Earlier in the tournament, Yuan, ranked No 45, won against Romanian wildcard Simona Halep (6-3, 6-3), Japanese Nao Hibino (4-6, 7-5, 6-2) and American Sofia Kenin (6-3, 6-3).
Hong Kong WTA 250, other semi-final result (Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, hard, USD 267.082):
- Diana Shnaider vs. Leylah Fernandez