Hong Kong Open: Shnaider dumps defending champ Fernandez out, to face Boulter in final
Top seed Diana Shnaider beats Leylah Fernandez in straight sets, after Katie Boulter needs three to get past Yuan Yue in her semi-final
Top-seeded Russian Diana Shnaider was never troubled in a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Leylah Fernandez that took just one hour and 27 minutes, in stark contrast to the more than two-and-a-half hours Katie Boulter needed to overcome Yuan Yue in Saturday’s first semi-final at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium.
Fernandez, who breezed past Heather Watson, Kimberly Birrell and Bernarda Pera in straight sets in her bid to become the first woman to successfully defend the title in 43 years, was no match for the world No 14.
Shnaider, who reached the quarter-finals at the US Open in August, broke in the first game, and although the pair trade breaks thereafter, got ahead again at 4-3 and never looked back.
She secured her fourth break of the night to start the second set and, with Fernandez needing a length medical break for an injury to her left foot, finished the match off in clinical fashion.
Speaking after her loss, Fernandez said she made “too many mistakes” and was “too offensive” at times. but said it had still been a positive week.
“[Diana] played a great match from beginning to end. She didn’t make many mistakes, and she took advantage from those openings,” the 22-year-old said. “I think it’s a little hard at the moment to find positivity.
