British women’s No. 1 Katie Boulter reached the final of the Hong Kong Open with a hard-fought 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over China’s Yuan Yue at the Victoria Park Tennis Centre on Saturday.
The 28-year-old has shown fine form in Asia — she also reached the semifinals of the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last week — and is poised to end the year with a career-high world ranking (No. 23).
Having comfortably won the first set, a number of crucial errors from Boulter let her sixth seed opponent back into the match in the second. But Boulter reestablished her superiority in the deciding third set, twice breaking her opponent’s serve on her way to a 4-0 lead. Yue claimed two games back but Boulter eventually made sure of the result with her seventh ace of the contest.
“That was an unbelievable match. I mean she [Yue] makes it so hard to win any point in the match and I just had to keep believing, keep fighting and try to find a way through. I’m a little grumpy today, I’m a little tired but I managed to find a way so I’m really happy with that,” Boulter said.
Boulter has already won two WTA titles this season — the San Diego Open in March and the Rothesay Open in June.
The 28-year-old will face Diana Shnaider or Leylah Fernandez in the final.
“I just wanted to finish my year on a career high which is why today meant so much to me and I’ve actually done that so I’ve got nothing to lose tomorrow and I’m just going to swing free and enjoy it for me,” Boulter said.