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The 24-year-old Chinese Yafan Wang is through to her first WTA final after a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over the 3rd seed Donna Vekic in an hour and 50 minutes. Donna made a perfect start although she struggled to stay on that level in the rest of the encounter, with Wang delivering better and better numbers on the return as the match progressed to seal the deal and achieve her most significant result in a career so far.
Both players had their chances after winning more than 50% of the return points but it was Wang who prevailed with eight breaks from 15 chances, getting broken six times from as many opportunities she offered to the Croat and erasing that deficit with no less than seven breaks in sets two and three.
Donna got broken in the third game when her forehand landed long, shifting into a higher gear after that and winning the next five games for a 6-2, breaking the Chinese three times in a row and clinching the set when Yafan netted a forehand at 2-5.
The second set kicked off with seven straight breaks and it was Wang who made the first hold for a 5-3 lead when Vekic placed a forehand beyond the baseline. Serving to stay in the set, the Croat gave serve at love to experience five breaks in succession, losing the set 6-3 and the momentum before the decider.
There, Wang served great and she grabbed two breaks to cross the finish line first and march towards the final, forging a 3-0 gap and delivering another break that pushed her 5-1 up. The Chinese forced an error from Vekic in the following game to complete the victory and set the final duel with the 5th seed Sofia Kenin.
The 20-year-old American has been in great form so far in 2019, winning the maiden title in Hobart and seeking another one here in Acapulco after a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory over the young Canadian Bianca Andreescu in two hours and 14 minutes.
Kenin hit eight double faults which couldn't stop her, playing with more efficiency on the second serve and winning eight points more than her rival overall. Bianca and Sofia had ten break points each and the Canadian suffered five breaks while earning four on the other side, having a break in the decider before losing four of the last five games to send Kenin into the final.
Andreescu was off to a flying start, winning 12 of the first 15 points before Kenin responded with an even stronger run, rattling five games in a row and 20 out of 26 points to race into a 5-3 lead, closing the opener with a hold at 15 in game ten for a 6-4.
Bianca bounced back in set number two, taking four of the last five games with back-to-back breaks in games six and eight and looking good before the start of the decider. They both served well in the opening six games in the calm before the storm, trading breaks in games seven and eight before the American secured another one in game 12 when Bianca sent a backhand long to continue her great run in 2019.