Kasatkina joins Haddad Maia in Korea Open final

Top seed Daria Kasatkina won against No 4 seed Diana Shnaider 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the final of the Korea Open at the Olympic Park Tennis Center in Seoul.

This was the second win for Kasatkina on Saturday. Earlier, she profited from Britain’s Emma Raducanu’s retirement in the quarter-final while leading the proceedings 6-1.

She defeated Shnaider, who struggled with her shoulder, in straight sets on the back of seven breaks of serve. The standout stat for the Russian was the 89 percent conversion rate on the second serve points as she emerged victorious after 76 minutes.

Kasatkina, ranked No 13, will face Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, the No 3 seed, next. The two have thus far played against each other thrice on the tour, with the Brazilian leading the head-to-head 3-1.

Daria Kasatkina defeated American Hailey Baptiste (6-4, 6-2) and Emma Raducanu (6-1 ret.) in the previous rounds of the Seoul tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Shnaider, ranked No 16, won against Canadian qualifier Carol Zhao (6-3, 6-3) and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No 5 seed (7-6 (7), 6-3).

Seoul WTA 500, other semi-final result (Olympic Park Tennis Center, hard, USD 922.573):

• Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Veronika Kudermetova: 6-4, 6-4

Read also

Haddad Maia books spot in Korea Open final

Tennis Majors