Anna Kalinskaya outclassed the UK’s Emma Raducanu 6-4, 6-3 at the Washington Open on Saturday to advance to the final, where she would face Leylah Fernandez.
After a strong start from both players, Kalinskaya secured the first break to lead 5-4 and served out the opening set, handing Raducanu her first dropped set of the tournament.
The two exchanged early breaks in the second set before the Russian pulled ahead once more, taking a lead that proved decisive and breaking again to seal the win.
Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Having denied fans a rematch of the 2021 US Open final between Raducanu and Fernandez, Kalinskaya would aim to capture her first WTA 500 title in the final, which was to take place last night after press time.
“It was an interesting match. It’s nice to play against Emma,” world No. 48 Kalinskaya said. “I’m proud of myself. I stayed aggressive and stuck to my plan.”
Earlier, Fernandez came from a set down to defeat third seed Elena Rybakina 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) in a marathon battle marked by dominant serving from both players.
Rybakina edged a tight first set, gaining the upper hand in the tiebreak with two clutch return winners.
Fernandez dropped her serve in the opening game of the second set, but Rybakina was unable to serve out the match at 5-4, allowing the Canadian to rally and level the contest by taking the second tiebreak.
As in the opener, neither player dropped serve in the third set, but Fernandez grew in confidence and secured victory in three hours and 12 minutes to reach her first final of the season.
On the men’s side, seventh seed Alex de Minaur blew hot and cold in his semi-final meeting with Corentin Moutet, but was able to grind out a 6-4, 6-3 win over the lucky loser.
“It wasn’t pretty tennis, but I knew it was going to be a tricky match without a lot of rhythm... I had the mentality of doing whatever it took to get into the title match tomorrow,” said De Minaur, who also reached the final in DC in 2018.
De Minaur would also return to the top 10 after reaching the final, where he was to face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a 6-2, 7-5 winner over Ben Shelton.
Meanwhile, in the women’s doubles final, Zhang Shuai of China and American partner Taylor Townsend secured the top prize after defeating American duo Sofia Kenin and Caroline Dolehide 6-1, 6-1.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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