IN-FORM Russian, Ekaterina Alexandrova will hope to remain unbeaten from the past month, securing a spot in the Shenzhen Open final after victory in the semi-finals earlier today. Having completed a third title in four years at Limoges just prior to the new year, the 25-year-old world number 34 showed she could do some serious damage in the Australian summer with a straight sets win over two-time Grand Slam winner, Garbine Muguruza. Alexandrova will now face emerging Kazakhstan player, Elena Rybakina who knocked off Kristyna Pliskova in the other semi-final. Interestingly, the 36th ranked Rybakina is evenly matched with Alexandrova, as both players aim to squeeze into a seeding spot for the Australian Open and guarantee avoiding a top 30 player in the first two rounds.

While Muguruza was considered a dark horse and highly underrated player heading into the Shenzhen Open, the Spaniard proved no match for the in-form Russian, going down 6-4 6-3. The Grand Slam winner produced more aces – six to four – than her opponent, but also won just 56 per cent of her first serves, as Alexandrova’s consistent performance on-serve continued with three quarters of her first serve points going her way. While she also conceded both break point opportunities against her, she fulfilled four of her own from seven chances. The straight sets match took just 76 minutes on centre court as Alexandrova moved through to the final to try and claim her first official WTA Tour title outside of Limoges.

Rybakina was just as impressive on her way to a 6-2 7-5 victory over Pliskova, with the seventh seed winning 80 per cent of her first serves. While her serving was a highlight, Rybakina was also impressive on Pliskova’s serve, breaking on three opportunities, with the third and final time coming to avoid a tiebreaker in the second set. The winner had nine aces to three double faults, while Pliskova had eight and five in a match that was largely determined by the form of the server. Now the 20-year-old will look to try and take down the red-hot Alexandrova in the final tomorrow.