Saturday proved a long day for both Daria Kasatkina and Beatriz Haddad Maia, who came through quarter-final and semi-final matches to reach Sunday’s final of the Hana Bank Korea Open.
First of all, I feel sorry for Emma for retiring during the match. It’s a pity to get injured, especially in the deeper stages of the tournament. I wish her a speedy recovery to get ready for the next tournament. I know that this swing is important for her. Daria Kasatkina
Play at the WTA 500 event was completely washed out on Friday, which meant 4 players were faced with double-duty to get the singles draw back on track.
At the end of a marathon day, Kasatkina and Haddad Maia were the last ones left standing, setting up their 4th career meeting.
Earlier, though, Britain’s Emma Raducanu’s injury woes struck again, forcing her to retire in her quarter-final encounter with top-seeded Kasatkina.
The 21-year-old lost the first set, 6-1, in 32 minutes, and then withdrew with the foot issue that had surfaced in her previous match on Thursday.
The rain on Friday gave her an extra day to work on dealing with the left-foot injury, but she called for the trainer towards the end of the first set, and, after Kasatkina wrapped up the opener, Raducanu decided she would not continue.
Her run to the Last 8 saw her beat two Top 50 players, American Peyton Stearns and China’s Yue Yuan, and she was looking to make just her second-ever WTA Tour semi-final, having also reached the Last 4 in Nottingham in June.
Raducanu, who spoke earlier in the week about wanting to play as many matches as possible before the end of the year, was broken early by Kasatkina, the World No 13 from Russia, in the second game.
Although Raducanu immediately broke back, the 2021 US Open champion was unable to build on that, and, after Kasatkina had wrapped up the set, Raducanu went over to the net and shook her hand.
First of all, I feel sorry for Emma for retiring during the match,” Kasatkina said. “It’s a pity to get injured, especially in the deeper stages on the tournament.
“I wish her a speedy recovery to get ready for the next tournament. I know that this swing is important for her.”
3rd-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia got past both Kudermetova sisters to reach the Korea Open final on Saturday
© Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images
Haddad Maia, the 3rd seed from Brazil, was the first to reach the final, after her double-duty against the Kudermetova sisters, easily dispatching the younger, Polina, 6-2 6-1, in the quarters, and then prevailing over Veronika in the semis, 6-4 6-4, in a clash between two former Top 10 players.
The Brazilian needed 1 hour and 47 minutes to defeat the elder Kudermetova, who beat Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova in her quarter-final earlier in the day, 7-5 6-3.
“I was trying to think only in the present, point by point,” Haddad Maia said at the end of Saturday. “I think I started the day with a match that I didn’t play my best tennis, but I was very competitive.
“I’m happy that I made it to the semi-finals, because I could improve my tennis, improve my serve, my returns. And I’m happy with the way I finished the day, especially with the wide-serve ace [on match point].”
Haddad Maia, who made it into her second final in the last 3 events over the past 5 weeks, has won 11 of her last 13 matches.
She reached her first final of the year a month ago in Cleveland, then made her first US Open quarter-final before heading to Seoul, where she had previously been a runner-up to Jelena Ostapenko in 2017.
Top seed Daria Kasatkina came from behind in two sets to beat Diana Shnaider in the semi-finals at the Korea Open in Seoul on Saturday
© Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images
Kasatkina closed out the day with a 6-3 6-4 semi-final win over her Russian compatriot, No 4 seed Diana Shnaider, who had battled past Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 7-6(7) 6-3, in an hour and 31 minutes in her quarter-final.
The Russian is 1-3 in her previous finals this season, taking the title on the grass of Eastbourne.
In the first meeting between the two, Kasatkina prevailed in the Top 20 showdown by coming back from a break down in each set.
Haddad Maia won both of their matches in 2023, but Kasatkina beat the Brazilian via a third-set tiebreak earlier this year in Abu Dhabi.
“[Haddad Maia] never gives up, and she’s an amazing player,” Kasatkina said, looking ahead to the final. “I have to prepare well for this match.
“But, for the moment, I’m just enjoying myself, enjoying being in the final. A little bit of joy now, and then come back to the office tomorrow.”
