Published 16:22 IST, October 5th 2019
Ashleigh Barty reaches China Open Finals, beats Kiki Bertens
Ashleigh Barty will meet Caroline Wozniacki or Naomi Osaka in China Open final after the world number one squeezed through in three sets against Kiki Bertens
- SportFit
- 2 min read
Ashleigh Barty would meet Caroline Wozniacki or Naomi Osaka in the China Open final after the world number one squeezed through in three sets against Kiki Bertens on Saturday.
Barty committed 52 unforced errors but won, She saved the neck-to-neck match 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory in the Chinese open.
Ashleigh Barty dominated the first set against the shocked Bertens. However, the 27-year-old Dutchwoman struck back to win the second set of their semi-final by the same 6-3 scoreline, which took the match to a whole new level of curiosity. Now the point remained on who would emerge victorious in the third and final set.
Both went to serve until the fifth game of the third set, when Bertens, ranked eighth in the world, profited from Barty's error to get a breakup in the match. Bertens' streak continued into the final set as she was the first to break, and the Dutchwoman broke again at 2-2 to move into the ascendency.
Barty seals victory
Barty went down 3-1 in the tiebreak but overcame the deficit to seal the victory. The Australian player later held from 0-30 to hold for 6-5, her first lead of the final set since 2-1, to set the stage for the winner-take-all finale. Title-holder Wozniacki and reigning Australian Open champion Osaka play their semi-final later on Saturday. Before going to the match on Saturday, Ashleigh took to Twitter and shared some fun moments with her competitor Kiki Bertens
On Friday, post emerging victorious over Petra Kvitova in a gutsy semi-final match, the World No 1 Ashleigh Barty said that she produced some of her best tennis this year as she battled into the China Open semi-finals
Updated 18:26 IST, October 5th 2019