Pliskova and Martic breeze through to Zhengzhou final
Both Karolina Pliskova and Petra Martic needed just over an hour to win their respective semi-finals in Zhengzhou on Saturday.
Karolina Pliskova and Petra Martic both wasted little time in recording convincing wins to make it through to the Zhengzhou Open final.
Top seed Pliskova needed just 68 minutes to see off Ajla Tomljanovic, winning 93 per cent of the points on her first serve as she coasted to a 6-3 6-2 triumph.
The Czech’s smooth progress came after she had to play twice on Friday following rain, recording wins over Polona Hercog and then Sofia Kenin.
The 27-year-old, ranked two in the world, will be aiming to win a fourth title in 2019, following on from triumphs in Brisbane, Rome and Eastbourne. She was also a beaten finalist in Miami.
Smooth sailing
Petra Martic claims her spot in the @ZhengzhouOpen Final by storming past Mladenovic, 6-0, 6-3 pic.twitter.com/Gq9oqcR8AJ
— WTA (@WTA) September 14, 2019
Standing in her way will be Martic, who was fractionally quicker in winning her semi-final against Kristina Mladenovic. The seventh seed wrapped up a 6-0 6-3 result in 67 minutes.
She was aided by five double faults from Mladenovic in a lopsided first set, though the Frenchwoman improved in the second, coming close to a break in a lengthy seventh game.
However, Martic – who won her maiden WTA Tour title in Istanbul earlier this year – held under pressure before breaking emphatically in the next, allowing her to serve out for the match.
