Unseeded Katerina Siniakova reaches final of Shenzhen Open

Unseeded Czech tennis player Katerina Siniakova defeated Britain’s world number 10 Johanna Konta on Friday to secure a place in the WTA Shenzhen Open final.

Siniakova eliminated second seed Simona Halep earlier in the $750,000 tournament but another upset looked unlikely when Konta raced into a 5-0 first-set lead and took it minutes later.

But the world number 52 recovered to level the match. Third seed Konta again took the lead in the decider, but Siniakova won the last four games to triumph 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.

“I think she definitely started slower in the match, and me, quite well,” Konta said. “But all credit to her, she really raised her level in the next two sets.

“She was going for every single shot and played quite freely, so it was a difficult match for me to do what I would have liked.”

Siniakova will face American Alison Riske in the final, whose winning streak in China continued as she defeated Italy’s Camila Giorgi in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3.