WTA Elite Trophy: Zheng Qinwen wins all-China semi-final with Zhu Lin, will face Beatriz Haddad Maia for title
- The 21-year-old Zheng defeats wild-card entry Zhu 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in Zhuhai, racking up her eighth straight victory
- China’s No 1 will now face Haddad Maia in Sunday’s year-end final, after Brazilian saw off Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-1
Zheng Qinwen came out on top in an all-Chinese semi-final on home soil at the year-end WTA Elite Trophy, beating Zhu Lin in a three-set battle on Saturday in Zhuhai.
China’s No 1 will now face Beatriz Haddad Maia in Sunday’s final, after the Brazilian defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-1 in the first semi-final of the afternoon.
Zheng had to dig deep to see off her compatriot at the Hengqin International Tennis Center, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in three hours and 19 minutes.
It is third tour final of the season for the 21-year-old, and the highest-level final she has reached in her career.
Saturday’s match was a first meeting at WTA Tour level for the Chinese pair, though Zhu defeated a then 15-year-old Zheng 6-0, 6-1 at an ITF World Tennis Tour US$60,000 event in Jinan, China in 2018.
Zheng is just the second Chinese player to reach the final of the Elite Trophy, with Wang Qiang finishing as runner-up behind Ash Barty in 2019.
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Wild-card Zhu qualified from the Rose Group after Veronika Kudermetova beat fourth-seeded Liudmila Samsonova on Friday.
Kudermetova saved two match points in her 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over Samsonova to deny her a semi-final berth. Already out of semi-final contention, Kudermetova trailed 5-2, 40-15 in the final set but rallied to win 19 of the last 23 points.
The result left all three players with one win each in the group, with Zhu advancing because she won more sets overall.
Eighth-seeded Haddad Maia, ranked 19th in the world, earned her place in the semi-finals by defeating Caroline Garcia 6-1, 7-6(4) to top the Camellia Group with a 2-0 record.
Haddad Maia now has three straight-sets wins this week following her opening upset victory over second-seeded Madison Keys.
The 12-player tournament is the first postseason event on the women’s tour. It features the 11 highest-ranked singles players who did not qualify for next month’s WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico. Zhu, ranked 37th, is the final entry as a wild-card.
The players are divided into four groups of three with the winner of each group advancing to Saturday’s semi-finals.
