Hong Kong Tennis Open: Canadians Fernandez, Mboko to meet in semis, Joint awaits Bucsa
Spain’s Bucsa through after top seed Belinda Bencic pulls out with injury, while Mboko also progresses following a withdrawal
Maya Joint booked a Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open semi-final showdown with Cristina Bucsa after a mid-match “mental reset” helped her overcome surprise package Himeno Sakatsume in three sets on Friday.
Victoria Mboko then joined her in the last four after her opponent, Anna Kalinskaya, withdrew because of illness when trailing 6-1, 3-1. She will play fellow Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who overcame Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-4 in the day’s final match.
Russian Kalinskaya’s movement was inhibited throughout and she had her blood pressure checked shortly before calling off the match after 48 minutes on court.
It followed the earlier withdrawal of No 1 seed Belinda Bencic from the first quarter-final, against Bucsa, because of a thigh injury, handing the Spaniard a walkover.
Joint’s match at least gave fans some value for money on a day when one match failed to finish and another did not start.
The Australian teenager won four straight games to claim the opening set 6-4, but Japanese qualifier Sakatsume exploited her opponent’s uncharacteristic sloppiness to win the second 6-2.