Peterson to meet resurgent Watson in Tianjin Open final
Heather Watson has made her first WTA Tour final since March 2016, where she will meet in-form Rebecca Peterson.
Rebecca Peterson reached her second WTA Tour final in the space of a month by booking a Tianjin Open clash against Heather Watson, who made her first showpiece since 2016.
Sweden’s Peterson, a recent winner in Nanchang, recovered from a dreadful first set to defeat Ons Jabeur 0-6 6-4 7-5 in the first semi-final on Saturday.
She will meet Watson in the final of the WTA International event after the Briton won in straight sets against Veronika Kudermetova, triumphing 6-1 6-4 in 74 minutes.
Peterson suffered a bagel in the opener of her match, though the set was closer than the scoreline suggested as the first five games went to deuce.
In the second, Peterson missed a chance to serve it out at 5-3 but then broke Jabeur in the next game to level the contest.
She fell 3-1 behind in the decider before winning six of the last eight games to progress from a hard-fought encounter in two hours and six minutes.
“It was a really tough match,” said Peterson. “[Jabeur] played well, I couldn’t find my rhythm and I had to fight for every point so I’m happy that I got the win in the end.”
.@beckspeterson advances to the @TianjinOpen final!
Defeats Ons Jabeur 0-6, 6-4, 7-5! pic.twitter.com/3hZbnZoUjZ
— WTA (@WTA) 12 October 2019
Watson made her first WTA final in three-and-a-half years, winning the first set with ease as Kudermetova – ranked 80 places above her – did not earn a single a break point.
One break was enough to settle a closer second set, with world number 125 Watson converting her third match point.
She has won all of her previous three finals on the main tour, while Peterson’s Jiangxi Open success in September was her only prior such contest.
“Hopefully I can play as well in the final as I did today.”@HeatherWatson92 will face @beckspeterson in Sunday’s @TianjinOpen final! pic.twitter.com/J290vEvjBZ
— WTA (@WTA) 12 October 2019
