The WTA Japan Open final has been set, with Leylah Fernandez and 18-year-old Tereza Valentova prepared to clash for the title in Osaka, while it is heartbreak for Romania as they see two of their stars narrowly crash out.
Fernandez came out on top against Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, while Valentova narrowly got the better of Jaqualine Cristian 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-3 to reach her maiden senior WTA final.
Fernandez wins topsy-turvy match
Former US Open finalist Fernandez had a slow start to the Asian swing, she has made up for that with a deep run in Osaka. He defeated Hailey Baptiste, Dalma Galfi, and Rebecca Sramkova without dropping a set. She would come up against Cirstea who most notably defeated Katie Boulter on her way to the last four.
The Romanian started on the front foot, clinching an early break of serve. That would be the only game she wins in set one with a rampant Fernandez sweeping up all the others in a dominant display, losing just eight points in five games. Taking the set proved to be much trickier, but the Canadian eventually got the job done on her fifth opportunity.
She was looking for a swift entry into the final and had two break points to immediately take command of the second set, but she failed to win them. At 2-2, the tide turned in the favour of Cirstea who won five games on the bounce to cause a swift conclusion to the second set, forcing a third and final one.
Cirstea kept her positive momentum up as she stole a march on her opponent, going 3-1 ahead. Fernandez was not having it though, winning three consecutive games which included two breaks of serve to once more change the trajectory of the match. The duo traded breaks once more as Fernandez eventually got the match completed with her first match point offered to her, sealing a second final in 2025 after her triumph in Washington.
Valentova prolongs magical run
It is fair to say that the future looks remarkably bright for Valentova. She battled her way through qualifying to reach the event before knocking out Alexandra Eala, Elise Mertens and Olga Danilovic. It was a high calibre roster of players who failed to get the better of the Czech star, with the next in line being the world number 47 Cristian, who received a welcoming bye through to the semi-finals after the number one seed Naomi Osaka had to pull out with a left leg injury.
The first set alone would take well over an hour, with both players trying to snatch the advantage off each other. It began with three breaks of serve going the way of Cristian, and when Valentova levelled up affairs, the Romanian broke once more to put herself in a favourable position to close the set out. However, she was unable to serve it out with Valentova elongating the first set, with it culminating with a tiebreak. Cristian finally got the job done as she moved within a sole set of her third senior WTA final.
Tereza Valentova
With the second set sticking on hold early on, Vanentova won three games on toe bounce to race into a 4-2 lead and would just remain in front despite the 27-year-old’s best efforts to extinguish that advantage. A third set was on the cards to separate these two tennis players, and it would be Valentova who would make the most of this. In a somewhat routine set, she sandwiched a break at the start and end, claiming her second match point to pursue her phenomenal run in Osaka.
AloJapan.com