HOBART: Third seed Elena Rybakina endured a tough test against British qualifier Heather Watson before winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the final of the Hobart International on Friday.

The 20-year-old Kazakh, who lost in the Shenzhen Open title clash last week, became the first player since Agnieszka Radwanska in 2013 to reach back-to-back finals in the opening two weeks of the year.

Standing in the way of Rybakina and a second career crown is fourth seed Zhang Shuai, who powered past Veronika Kudermetova 6-3, 6-4 in the other semi-final.

Zhang has the chance to seal a memorable double on Saturday after reaching the doubles final with partner Peng Shuai. The Chinese duo face Nadiia Kichenok and Sania Mirza next.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2020