TOKYO – Rising Chinese tennis star Zheng Qinwen continued his Pan Pacific Open winning streak by beating last-place Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the semifinals at Ariake Coliseum.
In another China-Russia clash, Lyudmila Samsonova beat Zhang Shui 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.
Quiwen and Kudermetova, the tournament’s fourth seed, traded powerful forehands, huge serves and many errors in the marathon match that lasted just over three hours.
Qinwen, who stunned top seed Paula Badosa in the second round, took the lead in the clash by breaking Kudermetova’s serve in the fourth game. The Russian, however, hung on and fought back, breaking the Chinese 19-year-old in the seventh and ninth in turn. games to win the first set.
Just one break followed for the rest of the match after Kudermetova made an error that opened the door for Qinwen in the second set.
The intensity of the match began to be felt by Kundermetova after she took a 6-5 lead in the final set. He also sought the intervention of a therapist for a problem with one hand.
Qinwen, ranked 36th in the world, then served at zero to set the table for Kudermetova’s tiebreak and errors, including a double fault at 2-5. Unable to recover, the Russian then lowered her flag.
Qinwen will compete in her first career final on Sunday. For her part, Samsonova has won two titles this season and reached the fourth round of the US Open in August.
