Qinwen Zheng was once again too tough for Leylah Annie Fernandez on Friday, beating the Canadian 6-0, 1-6, 6-3 to reach the semifinal of the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo .
In a replay of their duel two weeks ago in Wuhan, the two adversaries fought a good battle, but it was the favorite who got the better of her rival thanks to the quality of her strikes.
In a match with many twists and turns, it was the Olympic gold medalist who took control from the first moments by applying constant pressure. She set the tone by breaking the Canadian in the first game with a winning backhand, then continued this momentum to sign two more breaks and pocket the set in 25 minutes.
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Zheng produced more plays early in the second set to extend his winning streak to seven games. However, Fernandez gave him back the next play and finally got in on the score. She then survived an eight-minute service game, fending off three break points to take a 2-1 lead.
It was at this moment that the wind changed direction and the Canadian moved up a gear. She won the next four games to force a decisive set.
Zheng, however, dashed Fernandez’s hopes by building a 3-0 lead. The Canadian was never able to close the gap, allowing the Chinese to qualify for the final four.
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With this victory, his record against Fernandez is now two wins and two losses.
Boulter dominated Andreescu
Earlier in the day, Bianca Andreescu was unable to match the consistency and power of her opponent, losing in two sets of 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes against Briton Katie Boulter.
Boulter dictated play from the start and broke Andreescu in the first game before building an insurmountable 5-1 lead.
The ninth seed kept his foot on the accelerator. Two breaks allowed her to lead 4-0 in the second set before the Canadian managed to win her service game, but it was too little too late.
Boulter broke the former U.S. Open champion for a fifth time to cruise to a 6-2, 6-1 victory.
