Saturday 11 October 2014 09:24, UK
Defending champion Samantha Stosur remains on course to defend her Japan Open title and will play Zarina Diyas in Sunday’s final.
Stosur saw off third seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in straight sets in their semi-final, emerging a 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 victor.
A tight opening set saw the players exchange two breaks of serve each with the subsequent tie-break also a close affair, Stosur holding her nerve to edge it.
But having got her nose in front, the top-seeded 30-year-old Australian dominated the second and two unanswered breaks saw her seal victory in an hour and a half.
Standing in the way of what would be a sixth career singles WTA title for Stosur is Kazakhstan’s Diyas who reached her maiden final after a 6-2 7-5 victory over Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand.
The 20-year-old from Almaty needed just over an hour to get the job done, breaking her opponent three times in the first and then twice in the second to book a date with Stosur.
