Bacsinszky sets up final date with Muguruza in China Open

Radwanska is now two wins away from qualifying for the WTA Finals.

But the No.12-seeded Bacsinszky held in the end for the set and rolled through the third, eventually closing it out, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.

Karlovic blasted 26 untouchable serves past Cuevas in a losing effort, pushing his career total to 10,247, 10 more than countryman Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion.

In-form Spanish tennis player Garbine Muguruza gifted herself a flawless birthday present after she clinched a 1-6 6-2 6-1 victory against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni to reach the quarter-finals of the China Open in Beijing, thereby booking her place for the year-ending WTA Championships in Singapore. “So I think it’s a good final”.

Radwanska won the next three games in a row to make it 5-4. I did the best I could out there.

“I just tried to focus on my game plan and not look further – I was only thinking about the next ball, the next point, not what was going to happen after that”, Bacsinszky said in her on-court interview after the match.

Like Muguruza, Bacsinszky will embark on new ranking territory next week in cracking the top ten for the first time, only the third non-naturalised Swiss to do so behind Martina Hingis and Patty Schnyder.

As was the case in the semi finals here, Muguruza will be the aggressor in this match.

Former world number one Venus Williams produced a resilient performance on Friday as she battled past Italy’s Roberta Vinci in a pulsating three set thriller to reach the Wuhan Open final. “I’m really going to try and get the trophy”.

This is a huge match for both women as each stands to win their biggest title to date. Bacsinszky will fight her heart out as always and has to win the title if she’s to remain in contention for a place at the WTA Finals.