Saturday 11 October 2014 09:45, UK
Belinda Bencic and Alison Riske advanced to their maiden WTA finals after a disappointing day for the home players at the inaugural Tianjin Open in China.
Teenage Swiss starlet Bencic, 17, was afforded an easy passage as her semi-final opponent, second seeded Peng Shuai, was forced to retire after just four games.
Playing on home soil, Peng had been looking to secure her maiden title this week after six final defeats, but fell victim to a lower back injury.
Having fallen 3-1 behind early on she could not shake off the injury and was forced to pull out, much to the disappointment of the home fans.
Things would get little better for them in the second semi-final as the breakthrough run of Zheng Saisai was brought to an abrupt end by Riske.
Zheng had beaten top seed Jelena Jankovic on her way to the last four, but was completely outplayed by Riske who won 6-0 6-1 in just over an hour.
The American claimed the opening nine games of the contest and there was more than a little relief when Zheng finally mustered a love hold to get on the board in the second set.
But it proved only a brief moment of respite as Riske reeled off the next three to secure her spot in Sunday’s final against Bencic.
