Andreeva and Zheng Set a History-Making China Open Final

Mirra Andreeva and Qinwen Zheng completed a contrasting pair of China Open semifinal victories Saturday, sending the fourth seed and the home wild card into Sunday’s championship match in Beijing. Andreeva handled #26 seed Nikola Bartůňková 6-2, 6-2 before Zheng defeated #13 seed Elise Mertens 7-5, 6-2, producing a final with major ranking stakes and a first for Chinese tennis at the event.

Andreeva needed 1 hour, 14 minutes to stop Bartůňková’s breakthrough run. The 19-year-old struck 16 winners against 10 unforced errors and converted five of 10 break-point chances. After dropping the first set of her opening match in Beijing, Andreeva has won 10 straight sets. Saturday’s victory was her 50th of the season, making her the youngest woman to reach that mark since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009.