Rybakina readies for title defence at Ningbo Open in final with Fernandez
The world number one will face Leylah Fernandez in the final after the unseeded Canadian beat Czech Marie Bouzkova.
Leylah Fernandez advanced to the Ningbo Open final after defeating Marie Bouzkova in straight sets on Saturday. The Canadian player, currently ranked 30th in the world, won the match 6-3, 7-5, bringing her one victory closer to securing her second title in just two months. Bouzkova, ranked 26th, put up a strong fight against Fernandez, but the Canadian player's superior skills proved too much for her opponent.
Fernandez's journey to the final has been one of dominance, with her needing just three sets in her previous three matches in Ningbo to make it to the last four. In their first encounter, she had to win a hard-fought three-set battle to progress. This time, she broke early in the second set, establishing a 2-0 lead, but Bouzkova managed to stage a remarkable comeback as both players struggled with their serves.
The match went down to the wire, with Fernandez prevailing in just under two hours after Bouzkova returned long. At the other end of the draw, top seed and defending champion Elena Rybakina will face off against Russia's Diana Shnaider in the other semi-final later on Saturday.
Written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Fernandez beats Bouzkova to reach Ningbo final freemalaysiatoday.com
- Fernandez beats Bouzkova to reach Ningbo final nst.com.my
