ZHUHAI, China – Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, who was only seeded No. 8 when she arrived in Zhuhai, qualified for the Masters bis final by beating Russian Daria Kasatkina (No. 6) in the semi-finals on the clear score of 6-4, 6-1, Saturday.
Beatriz Haddad Maia will face Chinese Qinwen Zheng (No. 7) on Sunday for the title, who defeated her compatriot Lin Zhu (seeded No. 12) in the other semi-final. The two players have never met before.
Zheng took her revenge on Zhu, who had beaten her in their only previous face-to-face, which dates back to 2018. It was already in China, in the first round of the Jinjin tournament, and Zhu had only left only one game to his opponent, who today rose to 18th place in the world.
In the first two sets, the two Chinese players struggled to hold their serve, Zheng conceding 15 break points, Zhu ten, before the former escaped in the third set.
Created in 2015, the Masters bis, which brings together twelve players ranked outside the top-8, had not been organized since 2019, interrupted first due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then the suspension by the WTA, after the Peng Shuai affair, of its tournaments in China, which only resumed there in September.
2023-10-28 12:36:24
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