ORDER OF PLAY
Play starts at 11am
Nao HIBINO (JPN) / Miyu KATO (JPN) v Shuko AOYAMA / Ena SHIBAHARA
Not before 1:30pm
Rebecca PETERSON (SWE) v Heather WATSON (GBR)
MATCH POINTS
Rebecca Peterson and Heather Watson have never met in a main draw in a WTA Tour event. However, the Swede came out on top recently in a Wuhan qualifier, winning, 6-2, 6-2.
Peterson has already tasted success in this Asian swing. She was the winner in Nanchang, defeating Elena Rybakina, 6-2, 6-0 in that showpiece.
That is the WTA World No.59’s only experience of a final.
Watson, meanwhile, has a perfect record in such showpiece matches. She has 3-0 winning record in finals, all of which have been International events on hard courts.
The WTA World No.125 had only won two main draw matches on the WTA Tour prior to this week – and not at all on hard courts.
This is her first final since Monterrey in March 2016, when she defeated Kirsten Flipkens in three sets. She has also beaten Madison Brengel and Chang Kai-chen in finals.
All of Peterson’s three completed matches this week have gone the distance. She beat Venus Williams in the first set in three before coming from behind to beat Yafan Wang and Ons Jabeur. In the second round, meanwhile, Xinyu Wang trailing, 7-5, 3-2.
Watson has made more serene progress to this point, although did survive four match points in the quarterfinals against No.8 seed Magda Linette – a match that lasted just over three hours.
The Brit got the better of Katerina Bondarenko in the first round in one hour 47 minutes before breezing by No.3 seed Wang Qiang in 78 minutes. Her semifinal against Viktoria Kudermetova lasted three minutes less – her quickest match of the week.
