Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seed, beat seventh-seeded Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-1, 7-6 (4) to reach the final of the BGL BNP Paribas Luxembourg Open on Saturday.
Ostapenko led 6-1, 5-1 before Samsonova mounted a rally that fell short of taking the match to a third set. It’s the 10th career final for Ostapenko, who is bidding for her fifth title.
Her foe in Sunday’s final will be unseeded Danish teen Clara Tauson, who stunned No. 5 Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
Zavarovalnica Sava Portoroz
Unseeded Italian Jasmine Paolini rallied after dropping the first set to stun No. 2 seed Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 and reach her first career final in Portoroz, Slovenia.
Paolini, who also beat No. 6 Dayana Yastremska and No. 4 Sorana Cirstea this week, will face No. 3 seed Alison Riske of the U.S. for the title.
Riske fended off Kaja Juvan of Slovenia 6-0, 6-4 in the other semifinal. She is looking for her third career WTA title.
–Field Level Media
