Stosur secures first final berth in two years

Sam Stosur has the chance to land her first WTA title since 2017 when she takes on Sofia Kenin in the final of the Guangzhou International Women’s Open on Saturday.

The Australian, the 2011 US Open champion, hit back to see off Viktorija Golubic 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 on Friday and advance to her first title match since Strasbourg in 2017.

“I just tried to hang in there and find a way to start playing a bit better,” said Stosur, who will return next week to the world’s top 100 as a result of her run in China.

“She’s very tough to play against so I’m just happy to get through. 

“This is where everyone wants to be, so to now make it to the final, I’m really happy and I’ll give it my best shot on Saturday.”

Perfect @SofiaKenin #GuangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/yLQyhtFfZG

— WTA (@WTA) September 20, 2019

Third-seeded American Kenin also required three sets to battle past Anna Blinkova 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-1.

In Seoul, second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova overcame being a break down in the deciding set to beat Kristie Ahn 6-7 (0-7) 6-4 6-4.

The big-serving Russian, who fired down 22 aces, will meet fourth seed Magda Linette in the semi-finals. Linette was an impressive 6-2 6-3 victor over Kirsten Flipkens.

A stunning #ShotOfTheDay, brought to you by @MagdaLinette at the #KoreaOpen pic.twitter.com/4DEwJ5KBxo

— WTA (@WTA) September 20, 2019

The other last-four clash pits Karolina Muchova against Wang Yafan.

Muchova beat Priscilla Hon 6-3 6-3 while Wang dropped just four games in easing past Paula Badosa.