It will be Qinwen Zheng versus Liudmila Samsonova for the Toray Pan Pacific Open title in Japan on Sunday. On Saturday, Zheng and Samsonova reached the last match of the tournament after getting through their respective semi-finals on Saturday.
In the first semi-final, Samsonova ousted Shuai Zhang 7-6(4), 6-2 in an hour and 27 minutes. Of the two players, Zhang put in a higher percentage of first serves – 77% to Samsonova’s 59%. However, when it came to winning points off the first serves, Samsonova did better than her opponent as she won 73% of her first-serve points to the latter’s 58%. She had 13 aces for the match while Zhang finished with none. For the match, Samsonova had 40 winners in total and 25 unforced errors.
Samsonova’s lost only one match in the four events she’s played in the second-half of the year, including the current one. She won the titles at the Citi Open and the Cleveland Open before losing in the pre-quarters at Flushing Meadows.
Toray Pan Pacific Open: Qinwen Zheng too good for Veronika Kudermetova
In the second semi-final, Zheng needed three sets to make a comeback from a set down against Veronika Kudermetova. Zheng claimed the win 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3) after three hours and four minutes of play.
Zheng won 76% of her first-serve points to Kudermetova’s 71% but she struggled to win points off her second serves, winning 49% to the latter’s 63%. Zheng faced 10 break points and saved eight of these. She also converted two breaks on Kudermetova’s serve as well.
After the win, Zheng said, “After the match when I won the last point, the feeling was incredible. The opponent, she’s playing unbelievable tennis. She has a really good serve and hits the ball hard, she moves well.”
The Toray Pan Pacific Open final’s the fourth of Liudmila Samsonova’s career and she will carry a 100% final’s record heading into the match. Meanwhile, for Qinwen Zheng, this is the first time she’s reached the finale of a WTA event.