Canada's Leylah Fernandez to meet Elena Rybakina in Ningbo Open final

Leylah Fernandez advanced to the final of the Ningbo Open after the unseeded Canadian beat ​Czech Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals at the ​Yinzhou International Tennis Centre in the eastern Chinese ⁠city on Saturday.

Fernandez will face defending ​Ningbo Open champion Elena Rybakina in the final after the world No. 1 overcame Russian sixth seed Diana Shnaider 6-3 7-5 in their semifinal matchup.

Australian and ⁠U.S. Open champion Rybakina, ‌who arrived for her title defence after a bruising defeat in Beijing and a foot injury that forced her out of Wuhan, showed flashes of ⁠her best form despite a few wobbles against the 13th-ranked Shnaider.

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An aggressive start with powerful winners from deep helped ‌three-times Grand Slam winner Rybakina take full control of the opening frame, which she sealed on her 11th set point after a sudden dip in ​form.

The 27-year-old continued to struggle with the accuracy of her first serve ⁠in the next set, but won the crucial points ⁠and carved out a 4-3 advantage with a break, ⁠only ⁠to be broken ​to love in the 10th game.

Rybakina responded strongly to get ​her nose in ⁠front again in the next game with some big hitting, before closing out the victory with a much more assured display on serve to take her place in the ⁠final.