After one tight and one lopsided semifinal on Friday at the Guangzhou Open, qualifier Vania King and wildcard Zhang Shuai will fight for the International-level title on Saturday.
The 124th-ranked King beat world No.58 Zheng Jie 3-6 7-5 6-3 in two hours and 33 minutes. After overcoming a set and a break deficit, King again recovered from 1-3 in the third set, won five straight games and closed the match. The second semifinal wasn’t even close so dramatic. Zhang, ranked 112th, ousted world No.64 Yvonne Meusburger in breadsticks 6-1 6-1 in just one hour and seven minutes. They had three encounters before and now their head-to-head record is 3-1 for Meusburger.
King and Zheng met once before, at the Tokyo tournament in 2011. The American won in straight sets 6-1 6-0. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)
