OSAKA, Japan (AP) — The last remaining seeded player at the WTA’s Japan Open has reached Sunday’s final — Leylah Fernandez defeated 35-year-old Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.
At 4-4 in the deciding set Saturday, Fernandez broke Cirstea’s serve, then held her own serve in the next game to advance.
The fourth-seeded Canadian player will face 18-year-old qualifier Tereza Valentova in the final. Valentova beat Jaqueline Cristian 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3 in the other semifinal.
Cristian advanced to the last four when top-seeded Naomi Osaka pulled out with a left leg injury on Friday, giving the Romanian player a walkover in her quarterfinal.
Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up, advanced to her eighth career final. Her only run to a semifinal this season came at the WTA 500 D.C. Open, where she