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Zheng Qinwen becomes first Chinese singles finalist at China Open
Zheng defeats Elise Mertens 7–5, 6–2 and will face Mirra Andreeva for the title.
Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese player to reach the China Open singles final by beating Elise Mertens 7–5, 6–2 Saturday in Beijing.
The semifinal lasted one hour and 32 minutes. Zheng won eight of the last 10 games and finished with 32 winners against 16 unforced errors, according to the WTA match report.
Chinese players had previously lost all seven of their semifinals at the event. Zheng now reaches her 11th tour final and her second at WTA 1000 level.
She will face fourth seed Mirra Andreeva, who beat Nikola Bartunkova 6–2, 6–2 in the other semifinal. Zheng won their only previous meeting in the 2024 China Open quarterfinals.
Zheng entered this year’s tournament as a wild card and won her first four matches in three sets.
