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Tag 2019 Zhengzhou Open

Sport

Martic sets up final with Pliskova at Zhengzhou Open

Tennis
Zhengzhou (China), Sept. 14, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Croatia’s Petra Martic and top seed Karolina Pliskova marched into the final of the inaugural Zhengzhou Open with commanding straight sets victories on Saturday.

Seventh seed Martic dispatched Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic 6-0 6-3 in 67 minutes to reach her first Premier showpiece, sealing victory with her third ace of the match.

Mladenovic had a mounting error count and six double-faults while Martic, who faced only one break-point, broke her unseeded opponent four times, helping her win seven games in a row.

Czech Pliskova dominated her semi-final as she beat Ajla Tomljanovic 6-3 6-2 in 68 minutes.

It was her third victory of the year over the Australian after wins in Brisbane and Rome.

World number two Pliskova won 93 per cent of her first serve points, and broke four times en route to her fifth final of the season.

In spite of three consecutive double-faults in the second set, her superior counter-punching was also on display as she hit 28 winners, while Tomljanovic made 13 unforced errors.

Pliskova will seek her first title in China on Sunday after finishing as runner-up in Zhuhai in 2015 and Tianjin last year.(Reuters/NAN)
VO/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Riske ousts Kerber, Mladenovic advances

Tennis
Zhengzhou (China), Sept. 10, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) American Alison Riske fought back from a set down to beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber 5-7 6-4 7-6(6) in the first round of the inaugural Zhengzhou Open on Tuesday.

The latest defeat in China extended the former world number one’s poor run of form.

Riske held her nerve to save a match point in the third set tie-break before going on to inflict a fourth consecutive first round defeat on Kerber.

The German was beaten by Kristina Mladenovic in her first match at the U.S. Open.

Kerber, a three-times Grand Slam champion, was beaten in the second round at Wimbledon.

She also suffered first round defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati in the run-up to the year’s final Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.

On her part, Mladenovic made short work of Chinese wildcard Duan Yingying earlier in the day.

She won 6-2 6-3 to set up a second round meeting with fellow Frenchwoman and her former doubles partner Caroline Garcia.

“It was (They were) very tricky conditions. It’s super humid and it’s never easy to start a tournament,” said Mladenovic, who won 79 percent of her first serve points during the match.

“Every first round is difficult and Yingying, I’ve played (against) her in the past and she’s a very powerful player with a big serve.

“I think the key today was the consistency on my serve, and I managed to read hers well, which is her biggest weapon.”

Also, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko beat 23-year-old Chinese qualifier You Xiaodi 6-3 0-6 6-2 to reach the last 16, while France’s Fiona Ferro and Alize Cornet equally advanced. (Reuters/NAN)
VO/JPE/OLAL
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(Edited by Joseph Edeh and Olawale Alabi)