Google News Lyon Open: Dayana Yastremska makes it to final; to take on Shuai Zhang in title clash
by ABBEY JOHNSON
Shuai Zhang and Dayana Yastremska will play for the Lyon Open crown on Sunday after winning their respective semi-finals on Saturday. In the first semi-final, Zhang, the eighth seed from China, beat Caroline Garcia, 6-2, 7-5 in an hour and 36 minutes.
Zhang dominated the proceedings in the opening set, saving all three break points she faced while converting two break points on Garcia’s serve. She also won 70% of her first-serve points to the French player’s 53% and 66% of her second-serve points to Garcia’s 50%.
In the second set, both players tussled briefly as Garcia came from a break down to take a lead. However, Zhang secured a break in the 11th game and consolidated the break by winning the set and the match in the 12th game. In the other semi-final, Ukraine’s Yastremska played another lengthy match to oust second seed Sorana Cirstea.
Yastremska won 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 31 minutes. Yastremska won almost 66% of her first-serve points to Cirstea’s 70% and 53% of her second-serve points to the Romanian’s 50%. Yastremska saved six of the 11 break points she faced while converting five of the nine break points that came her way on Cirstea’s serve.
Lyon Open: Dayana Yastremska strides into the final
After the win, Yastremska acknowledged the support that’s been coming her way all through this week in the French event. “It was a really tough match. In the third set, when I had match points and I lost that game, I was a bit crazy.
I thought, I'm done, I've lost, because I don't have any more power. And then everybody was supporting me, supporting me, and I felt like, you can do it. When I posted pictures on Instagram that I left my home, I got a lot of messages from French people and from all over the world.
But when I arrived here, I didn't expect I would get that huge support,” she said. The Lyon Open final between Shuai Zhang and Dayana Yastremska will be the third time the two will be playing against each other. Photo Credit: Lyon Open Twitter