In the first semifinal at Hua Hin, a new WTA 125K event, Nao Hibino took the first set from Japanese countrywoman Naomi Osaka at 6-4 with a solid serving performance. The twenty year-old Hibino combined 4 aces, no double faults, 68% first serves in, 16 first serve points won and 70% points won on second serves. The third seed only won two first serve returns but was steadfast when it most mattered winning her only break point opportunity.
However, eighteen year-old Osaka showed great resiliency and quickly found her composure and form in the second set. Her big serve resulted in 8 aces against just one double fault. While only landing 59% of her first serves in, she won 12 of those13 points. She was able to go for it on first serve because her second serve proved to be a reliable safety net evidenced by 89% second serves won. Osaka was formidable returning serve winning 8 of 18 opportunities.
Hibino, who recently won her first WTA title at the Tashkent Open folded under Osaka’s pressure. She won just 1 of 13 points on return of first serve, and 1 of 9 on second serves. She landed 72% of her first serves in but could then only win 10 of those points on 18 opportunities. Osaka took the second set comfortably at 6-3.
The onslaught continued into the third set which saw Osaka breeze to a 6-1 conclusion. Osaka who is currently ranked number 203 reached her highest ranking of 156 in July. Given today’s performance, the WTA Rising Stars Invitational champion is well positioned to bolster her resume with a WTA125K crown.
The second semifinal was a grueling 2 hour 42 minute marathon which pitted the fourth seed Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan against Qiang Wang from Tianjin, China. Wang landed the first big blow taking the see-saw first set 7-6. She broke first in game 3 at love taking advantage of substandard Shvedova serving including a double fault. Wang consolidated and broke Shvedova again for a commanding 4-1 lead. But Shvedova broke back immediately despite strong serving by Wang. Shvedova went on a mini-run with another break to level the match at 6-6.
In the decisive first set tie-breaker, Wang served first and each player held. However, with Wang holding a 3 points to 2 advantage, Wang took advantage of a Shvedova second serve and grabbed a mini-break for 4-2. Then at 6-4, Wang again jumped on a Shvedova second serve to close out the set.
The second set also went to tie-breaker with Wang grabbing a mini-break on the first point and taking a 3-0 lead. A run of back and forth double faults and breaks put the tie-beak at 5-4 in favor of Shvedova and Wang serving. Shvedova broke for 6-4 and then Wang double faulted to hand the set to Shvedova.
In the third set each player improved their serving materially. The first three games were routine. However, Shvedova held serve in a 14 point game four to level the match at 2-2. Wang missed three opportunities to break which proved to be a turning point. In next game Shvedova broke Wang at love. Each player held serve thereafter and Shedova served out in style for the victory.
The twenty eight year-old Shvedova will face Osaka for the title tomorrow. Each comes into the match with a measure of confidence after regaining their form and finishing their semi-final matches strongly. That said it will be interesting to see if Shvedova’s experience will overcome the power serving skills of the up and coming Osaka.
