Number 5 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova advanced to her second WTA final after beating two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-2 after 1 hour and 16 minutesat the Shenzhen Open.
Alexandrova converted her second break point chance in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead, but she wasted a 40-0 lead and dropped her serve, while she was serving for the first set. Alexandrova rallied from 15-40 on Muguruza’s serve to break serve at deuce.
In the second set Alexandrova went up a double break in the second and sixth game to race out to a 5-1 lead, but she dropped her serve, as she serving for the match. Muguruza saved a match point on her serve in the eighth game and held her serve after a four-deuce game. Alexandrova earned three match points and converted her second chance in the eighth game.
“It was a tough match from the start. I was calmer than yesterday and that helped a lot. I am happy I did my best and I hope that can do it tomorrow”,said Alexandrova.
Alexandrova will face Elena Rybakova, who beat Krystina Pliskova 6-2 7-5 after 1 hour and 13 minutes. The Russian player will be bidding to win her first title after finishing runner-up in Linz 2018. Rybakina has reached her career-high of world number 36 and won her first title in Bucharest and reached her first final in Nanchang and her first quarter final in Wuhan. This week she upset Elise Mertens in the quarter final to clinch her third career top 20 win. Rybakina saved three break points in the third game of the first set, in the first game and in the eighth games of the second set.
Rybakina earned her first break with a backhand return winner in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead. She went a double break, when Pliskova double faulted, when she faced the second set point. Pliskova dropped just four points on her serve in the first eleven games. Rybakina hit two consecutive aces in the ninth game. Pliskova earned a break point in two separate games, but Rybakina converted her second break point chance on her second match point, when Pliskova sent her volley into the net.
