ATX Open singles final will feature an all-China final with Xiyu Wang, Yue Yuan
A bit of history will be made in Sunday’s ATX Open singles final when two Chinese players — Xiyu Wang and Yue Yuan — will battle for the title at Westwood Country Club.
Their meeting marks the first time since 2006 and only the second time ever that two Chinese players have played in a WTA tournament final outside of Asia.
“This is a really positive development for Chinese tennis,” Wang said after her semifinal win on Saturday. “It means one more good player from China. I’m really happy to see that and am happy and honored to represent my country. To play against a Chinese player is kind of special, but I know they are good, so I just try and fight.”
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Yuan echoed Wang’s comment.
“For sure I’m very happy to be a part of this Chinese team,” Yuan said. “We (are getting) more chances to play with other countries’ players and (now) we sometimes have chances to train with some of the best players in the world.”
Yuan reaches final with dominating performance
Yuan, seeded eighth, rolled into the final with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Saturday night. Yuan dominated from the start, losing only seven points in the first set and she didn’t face a break point on her serve until late in the second set. She kept Schmiedlova off balance, delivering seven aces without a double fault. Schmiedlova, on the other hand, served four double faults, including two that resulted in service breaks for Yuan.
“I wanted to give my 100%,” Yuan said. “It’s a semifinal and everyone wants to win this match.”
Since losing her first set of the tournament against Arina Rodionova, Yuan has won eight straight sets. This will be only her second WTA tournament final.
“I feel I played really well tonight,” Yuan said. “I got nervous at the end of the match and maybe didn’t play so well, but I’m happy to have won the match. Sometimes I think too much about the result. I have to keep playing my tennis and not wait for someone to make a mistake. I think next time I will not be so nervous at the end.”
Wang takes out tournament’s top seed to advance
Wang, seeded sixth, advanced to the final by eliminating top-seeded Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 7-6 earlier on Saturday. Wang delivered two of her eight service aces in the tiebreaker to clinch the match.
“I was just trying to serve my best,” Wang said. “If I hit an ace, that’s perfect and amazing, but I know she has good returns and I just tried to be ready all the time.”
The aces helped Wang close a tight match that lasted an hour and 46 minutes.
“She put a lot of pressure on me,” Wang said. “I tried to fight and I think I did well trying to keep my focus and my intensity.”
A friendly foe in the final
As for the final, Wang said it will be a different challenge to play someone she’s close to. She said she and Yuan met a number of times as junior players before turning pro.
“We played junior tennis together and we also are friends,” Wang said. “So it will be a little different. For the match, I’m just going to try to fight like I did and we’ll see.”
Yuan said for two hours on Sunday, she’ll see Wang just as the player on the other side of the net, not as a friend or a stranger.
“When you stay on court, no matter who your opponent is, it’s the match,” she said. “You just have to give your 100%.”
But it does help to play a friend, especially one on the same schedule. Both players will head to California to play in the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
“When (Wang) finished her match, she told me to see if we can get on the same flight from here to Indian Wells,” Yuan said with a smile. While the final is still to be decided, the travel goal has been accomplished.
ATX Open finals
2 p.m. Sunday, Westwood Country Club; singles — (6) Xiyu Wang vs. (8) Yue Yuan; doubles final after singles
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ATX Open final to match two Chinese players for first time since 2006
